LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



DDDD3HTET77 






PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS 
WANT TO KNOW 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS 
WANT TO KNOW 



BY 

EVERETT T. TOMLINSON 

AUTHOR OF "the BOYS OF OLD MONMOUTH," "lIGHT HORSE 

Harry's legion," "scouting with daniel 
boone," etc. etc. 




ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK AND LONDON 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1915 



E'/J.S 



Copyright, 1915, By 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



Printed in the United States of America. 



SEP 25 1915 

©GI.A4il?15 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The publishers acknowledge courteous permission 
to reproduce photographs as follows : from the South- 
ern Pacific Railway Company, the Union Pacific Rail- 
way Company, the Colorado and Southern Railway 
Company, and the Superintendent of the Woolworth 
Building, New York City. 



PREFACE 

"See America first" is a familiar suggestion. 
Whatever a young American may learn of other lands 
he surely ought not to be ignorant of his own. 

In this little book I have endeavored to cast into 
simple form descriptions of some of the most notable 
places in the history, geography and scenic beauty of 
our country. 

The English lad is taught thoroughly the lessons of 
the heroes, history and points of natural interest in 
his own land. Surely a similar course of reading con- 
cerning the most notable places in his country ought 
to be of value to every American boy. 

There is, too, a special need to-day of a revival of 
true patriotism. Intelligent love of country is de- 
pendent, however, upon knowledge. Especially is this 
true among the thousands who recently have come to 
win a home in America, but who are without knowl- 
edge of the price that was paid for the liberties they 
enjoy and are not familiar with the land or the life 
in which they are to share. Perhaps in no better way 

vii 



PREFACE 

can this desired information be given than by telling 
the story of the places which every American ought 
to know. 

Even if it is not possible for all to visit Concord and 
Lexington, to see the imposing buildings in the capital 
of the nation, to behold the grandeur of the Yosemite 
and the marvels of the Yellowstone, it still is the privi- 
lege of all not only to know what and M^here these 
places are, but also, by the aid of stories and pictures, 
to appreciate their value and the lessons they teach. 

If the reading of these stories shall arouse in the 
minds of our American boys and girls a desire to see 
and know more of their own land, the writer will feel 
that his labors have not been in vain. 

Everett T. Tomlinson. 

Elizabeth, New Jersey. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Greatest Rock in America ... 1 

II The Capital of the Nation 14 

III Mount Vernon 30 

IV The Oldest Town in the United States 40 
V The First English Settlement ... 48 

VI Independence Hall 58 

VII Concord and Lexington 70 

VIII Bunker Hill 79 

IX Trenton and Princeton 85 

X The Oldest College in America . . . 100 

XI West Point and Annapolis 107 

XII Yellowstone Park 119 

XIII The Yosemite Valley 134 

XIV The Grand Canon 146 

XV Pike's Peak 153 

XVI "Remember the Alamo!" 162 

XVII The Crescent City 173 

XVIII The Father of Waters 191 

XIX The Brooklyn Bridge 204 

XX San Francisco and the Golden Gate . . 214 

XXI Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty 222 

XXII Through the Great Lakes 228 

ix 



CONTENTS 

XXIII Niagara Falls 239 

XXIV The Thousand Islands 248 

XXV Lake George 260 

XXVI ''Where Rolls the Oregon" . . . .268 
XXVII The Skyscrapers 275 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Tlie Capitol at Washington Frontispiece'^ 

Plymouth Rock facing page 8 

Plymouth Hall 12' 

The White House 26 

Mount Vernon facing page 32 " 

Doorway to Mount Vernon on the Side Farthest from 

the River 33'' 

Banquet Hall Added to Mount Vernon by Washington 36"' 

The Oldest House in St. Augustine 44" 

The Gate at St. Augustine .... facing page 46" 

Independence Hall facing page 66 

Liberty Bell 68 

The Bridge at Concord facing page 12" 

Bunker Hill Monument 84' 

Nassau Hall, Princeton 86' 

The Gate to Princeton University . . facing page 88' 

Gate of the Harvard Grounds 102 

Craigie House facing page 104 

Cadet's Monument 113 

The Naval Academy, Annapolis . . . facing page 116' 
Old Faithful, Yellowstone Park . . . facing page 126 

xi 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Coaching" in the Yosemite facing page 136"^ 

The Grand Caiion facing page 148*^ 

The Garden of the Gods facing page 160"^ 

The Alamo facing page 166 "^ 

A Courtyard in the French Quarter 175*^ 

Exchange Alley 177 "^ 

Doorway in an Old French Market . . facing page 178' 

A New Orleans Cemetery 179*^ 

Courtyard on Carondelet Street 181 

The Calaboose 183" 

A New Orleans Yard and Cistern 187-^ 

Typical Old New Orleans Dwelling 188"^ 

A Creole Parterre 189^ 

Steamboat on the Mississippi 196"^ 

Bridge Across the Mississippi . . . facing page 200 

The Brooklyn Bridge facing page 206*^ 

The Golden Gate facing page 218*^ 

Statue of Liberty and Bedloe's Island . facing page 226''' 

Niagara Falls facing page 242*^ 

Among the Thousand Islands .... facing page 250" 

Lake George facing page 262 '^ 

A Eaft of Timber. Columbia River . facing page 272 ^ 
A Skyscraper. The Woolworth Building, 

New York facing page 278*^ 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS 
WANT TO KNOW 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS 
WANT TO KNOW 

CHAPTER I 

THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

ALMOST every land has a rock of which its 
people are very proud. Many have heard 
of the great Rock of Gibraltar, which England 
has made so strong with her guns and soldiers 
that, if she objects, it will be very hard for ships 
either to enter or depart from the great Medi- 
terranean Sea, the entrance to which it guards. 
The Irish are very proud of a high rock that 
stands alone in the midst of the dark green pas- 
ture-lands of Ireland. On this great Rock of 
Cashel one can see to-day the ruins of large 
buildings which the monks used many years 
ago. Here was a chapel and a beautiful cathe- 
dral. To-day there is a great stone cross on 
this rock. It is one of the Irish Crosses, made 

1 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

so long ago that no one can say when it was 
first set up. Here, too, are the ruins of some 
strange buildings erected by the Druids long 
before St. Patrick came to Ireland. 

In the village of Plymouth, on the shore of 
Massachusetts, there is a rock, which is the most 
famous in our country. Last year more than 
fifty thousand people visited it. General 
Grant, standing beside it in October, 1880, after 
he had gone around the world, said that "this 
granite bowlder to him was a more inspiring 
memorial than any of the monuments he had 
seen in his journeys in other lands." 

A great Frenchman said, "Here is a stone 
which the foot of outcasts pressed for an in- 
stant and this stone has become famous; it is 
treasured by a great nation; its very dust is 
shared as a relic. And what has become of the 
gateways of a thousand palaces? Who cares 
for themf" 

The rock is of granite, of a dark gray color. 
In it there are green flecks and many fine, black 
particles of mica. It is very hard, and, like 
the stones in this part of our country, might re- 

2 



THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

ceive a high polish. Its name is Plymouth 
Eock. 

Many years ago when there were only a few 
white people in America, and Captain John 
Smith and his crew, and perhaps a few others, 
were the only white men that had ever seen the 
little harbor, on the shore of which the famous 
rock has stood for ages, there were some people 
in England who were in great trouble. They 
had done no wrong, but they had dared to say 
that every man ought to be free to worship God 
in the way he thought was right. 

These Separatists, as they were called, were 
severely persecuted. For a long time they suf- 
fered much because of their faith, but they did 
not change. At last a body of these people, led 
by their pastor, John Robinson, decided to leave 
their English homes and go to Holland, where 
they hoped to find more freedom. 

So it came to pass that the little company 
sought new homes at Leyden, in Holland. Al- 
though the Dutch were kind to them, the little 
band did not prosper. Some of the good people 
died and others soon had spent all their money. 
2 3 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

When ten years were gone there were just about 
one-half as many of these people, who were 
called Pilgrmis, as had come to Holland. 

Then it was that they decided to go to Amer- 
ica. Others had gone there because they hoped 
to find gold, or because their kings wanted to 
secure land in the new country. Then, too, 
some even had been sent across the sea because 
England thought she would be better off if she 
could rid herself of them. 

The reasons for the sailing of this little band 
from Delfthaven were different. The Pilgrims, 
as they were now called, were not going to 
America to seek for gold, or because their king 
had sent them, but to found a place where every 
man should be free to worship God as he 
thought right. Just before they sailed, there 
was a day of fasting and prayer. They had al- 
ready obtained a grant of a large tract of land 
in America. 

The Pilgrims decided to stop on their way at 
Southampton, England. From this place on 
August 15, 1620, they set sail in two ships, the 
Speedwell and the Mayfioiver. 

4 



THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

The two ships had no trouble until the 
twentieth of September, when there arose a ter- 
rible storm that lasted three days. Somehow 
the ships were kept near each other, although 
the wind was so strong and the waves were so 
high that part of the time one boat could not be 
seen by the people on board the other. 

When at last the storm ceased, the people on 
board the Speedwell were sure that it had 
sprung a leak and was no longer safe. Finally 
it was decided to return to Plymouth, where 
the Speedwell was left and most of the Pilgrims 
were taken on board the Mayflower and the 
voyage was resumed. 

It was not until the ninth of November that 
they saw land. To-day our great ships cross 
the ocean in less than a week. These Pilgrim 
Fathers, as they sometimes have been called, 
had been more than two months on the stormy 
sea. We can understand what their feelings 
must have been when they saw before them the 
land which since has been named Cape Cod. 

There were no friends to welcome them. 
There was not even a house to shelter them 

5 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

from the storm. Among the trees there might 
be wild animals, and the Pilgrims already had 
heard of the Indians, who were said to be more 
cruel than the beasts. 

At last, after a long search, they found a har- 
bor where the people could land. Before a 
landing was made, however, they sent ten of 
their bravest men ashore to find out about the 
country along the rocky coast. 

These ten men, after they had walked about 
three miles into the woods, suddenly saw five 
Indians before them. And what strange beings 
each party thought the others were! The In- 
dians were armed with bows and arrows and 
their clothing was made of the skins of ani- 
mals. 

The Pilgrims tried to show these red men 
that they were friendly, but just as soon as they 
started toward them, the Indians, with a ter- 
rible yell, turned and ran as fast as they could 
go. 

The ten Englishmen then set up a little camp. 
After they had selected guards for the night 
the rest of them went to sleep. 

6 



THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

When morning came the white men followed 
the footprints of the five Indians they had seen. 
They were hoping to find some place where they 
might get a fresh supply of food. 

About noon they came to some ground that 
had been cleared and near this they saw a pond 
of fresh water and several little mounds, but 
still they did not see any people. They thought 
these mounds might be graves of the Indians. 

When they went a little farther west they saw 
a field with stubble on it which looked as if corn 
of some kind had been cut there not long before. 
As they went on still farther, they saw more 
of these little mounds and began to suspect that 
they were places in which food had been stored 
and were not graves. 

At last they examined one of the mounds, and 
to their joy they found it full of ears of corn 
(maize). They had never seen any corn before. 
Some of them, even after they had tasted it, 
thought it was not good to eat. Only a few be- 
lieved that they had found anything of value. 

The men now decided to go back to the ship 
and tell their friends what they had found. 

7 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

They also showed them the corn they had 
brought and reported that near where they had 
found it there was a good place to land. 

This landing place was Plymouth Eock, where 
the one hundred and two storm-tossed people, 
made their landing, December 21, 1620. 

Already the Pilgrims had selected John 
Carver to be their governor for one year. A 
few laws were made which all were to obey. 

The first task of the Pilgrims after they 
landed on Plymouth Rock was to erect a few 
rude houses to shelter them from the winter, 
which now was more severe than any they had 
ever known in their homes beyond the sea. 

Soon another party of men was sent in a 
shallop to examine what seemed to be a deep 
bay on the shore of which they had landed. 
Not long after the men left their friends they 
saw a large party of Indians on the shore cut- 
ting up a great fish. Governor Carver quickly 
told his friends to go to the place, but as soon 
as the Indians saw them coming, with a wild 
yell, they ran away. The English then landed 
and kindled a fire upon which they cooked the 

8 




o 

M 

W 

H 
C 

a. 



^^^..^g^Ss^ 



THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

fish, which the red men had left behind them in 
their flight. While they were making a place in 
which they might sleep that night, they left 
their guns in their boat a short distance away. 

Suddenly a large band of Indians came near 
and sent a shower of arrows upon the white 
men. The Pilgrims were so surprised that they 
were ready to run, but Governor Carver told 
them that if they did so they would surely all be 
killed. So he ordered them to keep close to- 
gether and to go slowly toward their boat. If 
the Indians should attack them they were to fire 
as soon as they secured their guns. 

Just as soon as the Indians saw the white men 
retiring from the place, they rushed from be- 
hind the trees and made ready with their clubs 
and hatchets to attack the Pilgrims. 

The white men by this time had secured their 
guns and quickly turned and discharged them at 
the attacking party. Three or four of the red 
men fell to the ground. Instantly the other In- 
dians stopped and in astonishment stared at 
their fallen companions. Then, with another 
yell, they all fled from the place. The Pilgrims 

9 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

said that ''the wild yell could be heard three 
miles. ' ' 

The white men at once went back to their 
friends. They were all now agreed that it was 
better to plan to stay for some time at 
Plymouth, or New Plymouth, as they called the 
place where they had landed. 

The winter was very cold and many of the 
Pilgrims died. When spring came there were 
so few remaining that the Indians might easily 
have killed them all. 

One day, la^e in the following March, to the 
surprise of the Pilgrims, an Indian came to Ply- 
mouth and spoke to them in broken English. 
How he had learned their language the white 
men did not understand. The Indian himself 
then told them that he came from a part of the 
country to which a few white men had come 
and that from them he had learned a few words 
of English. 

We may be sure that the Pilgrims were 
glad to find some one who could help them, and 
they sent the Indian away after they had given 
him presents. The next day he came back with 

10 



THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

the great sachem, or chief, Massasoit, and sev- 
eral other chiefs. To them also the Pilgrims 
gave presents, which the Indians thought were 
of great value. 

Soon the great sachem and the Pilgrims made 
a treaty in which it was agreed that the English 
and the Indians would be friends. The red men 
were to provide the white men with food for 
which the latter were to pay. 

How much the Pilgrims suffered in that first 
winter in America no one can describe, but 
still they did not give up the purpose for which 
they had come. 

To-day, America is a country in which every 
man is free to worship God in the way he thinks 
right. Plymouth Eock, where the Pilgrims 
landed, is honored as a place wdiere religious 
freedom was brought to America. The Rock 
itself was moved in 1775 by some patriots who 
wanted it placed in Liberty Pole Square in 
Plymouth, so that it might be "near the guard 
house, the church and the Liberty Pole." 

The Rock was removed from its place by large 
screws. While the men were trying to place it 

11 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

on the wagon the Rock broke. Some people said 
this was an omen of the break that was to come 
between Great Britain and her colonies in 
America. 

Captain Cotton, with his men to help him and 
with twenty yoke of oxen, at last carried Ply- 



**>/>■.' 




Plymouth Hall 



mouth Rock to Liberty Pole Square. There the 
Rock remained until the fourth of July, 1834, 
when it once more was moved to a spot in front 
of Pilgrim Hall and an iron fence was built 
around it. In the procession, which marched 

12 



THE GREATEST ROCK IN AMERICA 

when Plymouth Rock was moved the second 
time, was a model of the Mayflower that was 
drawn by six boys. 

Mr. Stickney, of Baltimore, Maryland, in 
1880, gave the money to have Plymouth Eock 
taken back to its old home on the ''sea beat 
shore." The broken pieces were cemented to- 
gether. There the greatest rock in America 
stands to-day. 



CHAPTER II 

THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

TRAVELERS say that Washington is one 
of the most attractive cities of the world. 

When we leave our train at the Union Sta- 
tion, we find that even the railroads have joined 
in adding to the attractiveness of the nation's 
capital. The immense Union Station of white 
granite is six hundred and thirty feet long. 
The grounds, or plaza, in front of it are filled 
with flowers, shrubs and fountains. 

It was by the advice of George Washington 
that the present location was selected for the 
capital of the new nation. What was called 
the Federal District of Columbia, which con- 
sisted of one hundred square miles, was set 
apart for this purpose. The foundation of the 
capitol building was laid in 1793. Washington 
became the seat of government in 1800. 

14 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

A part of the land was ceded by Maryland 
and a part by Virginia. Later, in 1846, the land 
which had been granted by Virginia was given 
back to that state, so that to-day the District 
of Columbia covers only sixty-nine square miles. 

Washington, in 1871, ceased to be governed 
like other cities in our country. At that time 
it was governed like our territories. Three 
years later the laws again were changed, so 
that now the affairs of the District of Columbia 
are administered directly by the President and 
the Congress, by means of a board of commis- 
sioners. 

The people who live here do not vote. They 
have no part in or voice in governing, or even 
in the control of the city in which they live. 
They do not belong to any state. This seems 
very strange. After nearly eighty-five years 
had passed, this method, for many reasons, was 
found to be the best. 

At first it was planned to make Federal City 
the name of the new capital. How^ever, in 1791, 
it was decided to call it Washington. 

There is not very much commerce or manu- 
15 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

facturing in the city because about forty thou- 
sand of the people that live there, including the 
officers in the Army and Navy, are employed 
by the United States. 

If we were to come in the summer time we 
should find many of the people gone. The 
weather is very warm and sultry at that time. 

We learn, too, that Washington covers ten 
square miles and that about 350,000 people live 
here. The streets are very wide and many of 
them are made of asphalt. They are so laid out 
that wherever one may stand he is almost cer- 
tain to see nearby or in the distance beautiful 
parks, great monuments, or imposing public 
buildings. 

Wherever one goes in the city he is able to 
see the dome of the Capitol and the top of the 
Washington Monument. The latter is a great 
tower of white marble. It was erected in honor 
of General Washington. The base is fifty-five 
feet square, and the shaft rises five hundred and 
fifty-five feet to what, from the ground below, 
looks like a sharp point. It was completed in 
1884. 

16 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

Several times men have dropped a baseball 
from the top of this monument to see if any one 
standing on the ground below would be able to 
catch it. One time a professional baseball 
player succeeded in catching the ball. Why was 
it so difficult? 

The plan on which the city is laid out is quite 
wonderful. It was designed by a French officer 
who thought many years ago that the Capitol 
would be the center of the city and that the 
streets and avenues would all run out from it. 
With other cross-streets it would then some- 
what resemble the form of a spider's web. 

The original plan has been somewhat changed. 
Some one has said that now it is like ''a wheel 
placed on a gridiron." 

The streets which run north and south are 
numbered. Those which run east and west are 
named from the letters of the alphabet. The 
names of the thirteen original colonies appear 
on the different avenues. Pennsylvania Ave- 
nue, for example, is in some respects the chief 
street, at least it is one of the busiest. On 
New Hampshire Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, 

17 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Vermont Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue and 
Sixteenth Street there are many fine resi- 
dences. 

From the station, travelers pass through a 
beautiful park that covers fifty acres and then 
they go up a little hill to the Capitol. This 
wonderful building has a great dome that can 
be seen many miles away. It is two hundred 
and sixty-eight and one-half feet high, and on 
the top of it is a figure of Liberty that is almost 
twenty feet high. 

The main building is of sandstone that has 
been painted white. The two great wings of 
the building are white marble. The Capitol 
covers three and pne-half acres and is seven 
hundred and fifty-one feet long. 

When it was first built it was thought that 
the city would grow in just the opposite direc- 
tion from that in which it since has grown. Be- 
cause of this change, instead of the Capitol 
facing the city in accordance with the original 
plan it really stands now with its back to it 
and looks the opposite way. Altogether, the 
building cost more than $16,000,000. 

18 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

There are three porticos on the front, of 
which naturally the chief is in the center. You 
will be certain to stop to examine some of the 
marble statues that have been placed there. 
Among these is a heroic figure of Columbus; 
another represents the discovery of America 
and another the settlement of America. Here, 
too, is the place where the ceremony of the in- 
auguration of the President of the United states 
is held. 

When we enter the building we stop first in 
the rotunda. This is a vast, circular, open 
room beneath the dome. The first ceiling that 
we can see is one hundred and eighty feet 
above us. Across the rotunda the distance is six 
feet greater than from the home plate to the 
first base on a baseball diamond. 

On the walls are beautiful paintings which 
picture important events in the history of the 
United States. Among these we are most in- 
terested in the Landing of Columbus, the Sail- 
ing of the Pilgrims, the Signing of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, the Surrender of Corn- 
wallis, and still another which represents Wash- 
3 19 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

ington resigning his commission as commander 
of the Continental Army. 

There are many visitors going up the stairway 
to the Whispering Gallery. There, even a 
whisper can be heard on the opposite side of the 
rotunda. Stairs lead up to the top of the dome 
where one can look down upon the city which 
spreads out before him, seen, and yet partly 
concealed by the trees. 

An interesting visit is to the room which con- 
tains many statues. To this room every state 
in the Union is permitted to send statues of 
*'two of her chosen sons." One of the chosen 
"sons" of Illinois is a woman, Miss Frances 
E. Willard. 

We leave this HaU and go through the long 
corridor to the Hall of Representatives. Any 
one is free to visit this room before noon. 
When the Congress is in session it meets at that 
hour, and then only the galleries are open to 
visitors. There is room for 2,500 visitors at 
a time. 

As we look down we see that there is a 
desk for every member. There are beautiful 

20 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

frescoes on the walls, and portraits of Wash- 
ington and Lafayette are hanging one at the 
right, and the other at the left of the Speaker, 
as the presiding officer is called. This is the 
place where the laws of our land are made. 

One party in Congress has seats on one side 
of the great room and the other party is seated 
on the other side. One of the Congressmen 
is now making an address. At first it seems 
to ns that it cannot be very interesting because 
so few seem to be paying any attention to the 
speaker. We are told that this is quite common 
and that the members depend more upon what 
they read than upon what they hear to help 
them to decide how to vote. 

We now go to the room in which the Supreme 
Court of the United States meets. This is the 
highest body of judges in all our land. The 
nine men are impressive in their robes. They 
all seem to us to be men of great ability and 
character. 

Through a corridor is the way to the Senate 
Chamber. As the Senators are fewer in num- 
ber than the Congressmen the room in which 

21 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

they meet is not so large as the Hall of Eepre- 
sentatives. The man who presides is the Vice- 
President of the United States. In little spaces 
in the walls there are marble busts of all the 
men who have held that office. There are paint- 
ings and statues also on the staircase which 
interest us when we leave the Senate Chamber. 

The next building we visit is the Library of 
Congress. When we are told that there is room 
for five million books in this building we are 
not surprised. This imposing building is four 
hundred and seventy feet long and three hun- 
dred and forty feet wide. If you will think of 
the amount of ground covered in this way you 
will get some idea how immense the great 
Library of Congress is. A copy of every book 
published in the United states is supposed to be 
sent to this library. Already nearly two mil- 
lion books are on the shelves. Besides the 
books there are hundreds of manuscripts, prints, 
pieces of music and maps stored in the Library 
of Congress. 

Any person may use these books, but unless 
he is a member of Congress or holds a certain 

22 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

office he may not take any book from the build- 
ing". More than three hundred people are em- 
ployed in this library. The walls are adorned 
with paintings by famous American artists such 
as Vedder, Alexander and others. There are 
also frescoes and bronze statues by such famous 
American sculptors as McMonnies and Saint- 
Gaudens. 

Among the other places of interest which we 
visit are the Botanic Gardens. The beautiful 
Bartholdi Fountain causes us to stop for a little 
while to look at it before we go on to the wonder- 
ful Palm-house and the conservatories. Of 
course we go to the building of the United 
States Fish Commission and see the aquarium 
in which not only are there many strange fishes, 
but there also little fish are hatched and shipped 
to different parts of the country. 

Another day we go to the great brick build- 
ing of the National Museum w^here there are 
wonderful collections of natural history, geol- 
ogy, etc. 

Most visitors surely go to the Smithsonian 
Institution. Its nine lofty towers and the red 

23 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

stone of wliich it is built are very beautiful. 
Mr. Smitlison, who gave tbe money for the In- 
stitution, was an Englishman. He never came 
to America. We are told that the reason for 
his great gift was that he enthusiastically be- 
lieved in the life and future of the new nation. 
He died many years ago, but we wish it were 
possible for him to see how much his generous 
gift has accomplished. 

In this building there are wonderful collec- 
tions of birds, insects, shells, etc. Many of these 
have been arranged especially for the children 
to study. 

One of the most interesting collections of all 
is that of Indian relics and of the pipes and 
various implements of stone or bone or copper 
from the mounds of the western parts of our 
country. We are surprised when we are told 
that in Edinburgh, Scotland, and also in the 
British Museum in London, there are more 
complete collections of bows, arrows, head- 
dresses, cooking-utensils and other implements 
that show how the North American Indians 
once lived, than can be found in any similar eol- 

24 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

lections in the United States. Our friends 
across the sea have been more interested, or at 
least they began to collect earlier than we did. 

Next to the Capitol the building which most in- 
terests us is the White House. This is the stone 
mansion painted white in which the President 
of the United States has his home. The great 
porch at the entrance, with its tall columns, is 
most imposing. The entire building is plain, 
and both inside and out is impressive. 

The cornerstone was laid by General Wash- 
ington. John Adams was the first president to 
live in the White House. He moved into it in 
1800. The building, with others, was burned 
by the British in the War of 1812, and has since 
been restored and improved. 

Between the hours of ten and two any one 
may visit the East Room of the White House. 
This wonderful room is eighty feet long, forty 
feet wide and twenty-two feet high. If we 
have received special permits we may also go to 
the reception rooms, which are beautifully fur- 
nished. There we can see portraits of the 
presidents and many of the valuable gifts they 

25 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

received. The permit also will take us to tlie 
dining-room. All the rest of the house belongs 
to the President and his family and we may not 
visit it. 

There are seventy-five acres in the grounds 
adjoining the White House. Here, every year 
at Eastertime hundreds of children gather for 




The White House 

the rolling of colored eggs. In the summertime, 
too, on Saturday afternoons, the people assem- 
ble here to listen to the concerts given by the 
Marine Band. 

The huge building to the west of us contains 
quarters for the Department of State, Navy 
Department and the War Department. 

The Treasury Building is an enormous 
26 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

structure and is striking because of the long 
colonnades on its front and the porticos on 
three of its sides. In its silver vaults there is 
coin and bullion worth hundreds of millions 
of dollars. 

Other rooms are the United States Cash 
Room and the Redemption Division. On the 
second floor are the quarters of the Secret 
Service Division. Here there is a complete col- 
lection of all the various kinds of counterfeit 
money as far as they have been found. There 
are also pictures of many men who have tried 
to counterfeit the money of our country. 

Among the many other notable and interest- 
ing buildings in Washington are those of the 
New National Museum, the Department of 
Agriculture and the Bureau of Engraving and 
Printing. In the last you will be especially in- 
terested in seeing how our paper money, bonds 
and stamps are made. The Census Bureau and 
the Pension Office also are of great interest. 
In the Dead-letter Office Museum are shown 
many strangely directed letters. Perhaps 
these letters more properly may be said to have 

27 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

been misdirected, for the people for whom they 
were intended cannot be found. To this place 
letters that are incorrectly addressed in any 
part of our land are sent. 

In the great white marble building of the 
Corcoran Gallery of Art we find nearly three 
hundred people who are studying or copying 
the pictures in the gallery. The list of famous 
paintings, sculptures and bronzes here is a very 
long one. 

Not far from the Corcoran Gallery is the new 
Continental Ilall, which the Daughters of the 
American Revolution have built, and also 
nearby is the new building of the International 
Bureau of American Republics. 

The Patent Office, with its upper floor filled 
with the wonderful collection of models, is a 
place of special interest to all who have tastes 
for mechanics. 

In Washingion, too, is the office of the Car- 
negie Institution whose object is to advance 
scientific research. 

Washington, with its wide and well kept 
streets, its beautiful parks and gardens, its im- 

28 



THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 

posing residences and wonderful government 
buildings ought to be seen by every American. 
Not only will any American be better able to 
appreciate the nation of which he is a part, but 
he will also be proud of the nation's Capital. 



CHAPTEE III 

MOUNT VERNON 

NOW that we are in the nation's capital 
we must not depart until we have seen 
Mount Vernon. This was Washington's home. 
There he and Martha Washington, his wife, 
were buried. There we shall see the very 
house in which the first president dwelt. There, 
too, we shall stand in the rooms in which he 
lived and see the table at which he ate, the 
quarters in which his negro slaves were kept, 
the room in which he died, and the place where 
his body now lies. Indeed, the love of coun- 
try, the courage, devotion and honesty, of the 
great man, who is rightly called the Father of 
his Country, will all be appreciated more fully 
after a visit to the place which was his home. 

There are two ways by which we can leave 
Washington for Mount Vernon, which is only 
fifteen miles away. There are trolley-cars and 

30 



MOUNT VERNON 

steamboats. We shall go by the former and 
return by the latter. 

Soon we leave behind us the great city, though 
the lofty Washington Monument and the high 
dome of the Capitol long stand out clearly 
against the sky. 

On our way we stop at the little city of Alex- 
andria, where our guide takes us to Christ 
Church and shows us the pews in the quaint old 
building in wiiicli Washington, and afterwards 
]-^obert E. Lee, used to worship. The old Brad- 
dock House, in spite of its crumbling condition, 
interests us because General Braddock had his 
headquarters there away back in 1755. 

The house, however, which interests us most 
of all is Marshall House. Here young Colonel 
Ellsworth died. He was the first man to be 
killed in the Civil War. He was a brave young 
Zouave, and his death produced a great effect 
upon the people of the North. 

Alexandria, in fact, is more closely linked 
with the Civil War than with the Revolution. 
Here is a great City of the Dead, the national 
cemetery, where lie the bodies of four thousand 

31 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

men who gave their lives in the struggle of the 
'60 's. 

In our ride from Alexandria to Mount Ver- 
non we are carried through the open fields. 
We pass many farms. Here and there along 
the trolley line are little platforms or stations 
for the convenience of the people who wish to 
send produce to the city. 

At the end of our journey we see an old- 
fashioned wooden mansion before us. This 
then is Mount Vernon! The impressive build- 
ing stands on a bluff, which is about two hun- 
dred feet above the Potomac. When we go up 
to the mansion we stop outside to obtain the 
beautiful view of the river and the country 
which spreads out before us. 

We are now looking out upon the same scene 
which used to greet the eyes of the General 
every morning. Below, is the great lawn in 
which grow trees planted by Washington, him- 
self; and lying beyond is the Potomac lazily 
flowing toward Chesapeake Bay. 

We notice the eight high, plain pillars which 
hold up the roof of the broad veranda. There 

32 




'1 






^**'''''W* saKjJST 






MOUNT VERNON 

are chairs and settees placed here where we may 
rest if we desire. 

The house is ninety-six feet long. Many 
years ago, in the estate of Mount Vernon, there 




Doorway to Mount Vernon on the side farthest from the river 

were eight thousand acres. At first it was 
called Hunting Creek. But Lawrence Wash- 
ington, the older (half) brother of George 
Washington, who had inherited the estate, 

33 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

changed its name to Mount Vernon. He did 
this because he wished to honor Admiral Ver- 
non, under whom Lawrence had served in the 
British Navy. 

It will be recalled that George Washington 
was the eldest of five children and that he was 
the son of Mary Washington, who was the sec- 
ond wife of his father. George was only twelve 
years old when his father died. His mother, 
whom he is said to have resembled, was a very 
quiet, dignified woman and a strict and good 
mother. George said that he owed to her all 
that he had been able to do. Do you know that 
almost every great man has a great mother? 

Mary Washington found her stepson, Law- 
rence, who lived at Mount Vernon, a very great 
help to her in the training of her children, as 
well as in many other ways. 

One time, when George was a little boy, like 
many others, he thought he wanted to go to 
sea. His mother did not want him to go, but 
at last she reluctantly gave her consent. The 
ship was at anchor in the Potomac and George's 
sea-chest was packed when Lawrence at that 

34 



MOUNT VERNON 

very time came home from England. Upon his 
urgent advice, Mary Washington withdrew her 
consent and George did not become a sailor. 

When Lawrence died he left the great estate 
of Mount Vernon to George Washington. That 
was in 1752. The middle part of the house had 
been built by Lawrence Washington. George, 
however, added two wings, which are con- 
nected with the main part. In 1859, a body of 
women, called the Mount Vernon Ladies' Asso- 
ciation, bought the house and two hundred acres 
adjoining it. They paid $200,000 for the prop- 
erty and as nearly as they could do so restored 
it to what it was in Washington's day. 

When we go into the house, at the south end 
of the first floor we enter the room in which 
Washington died. Every one in the room now 
is silent. 

We turn away and go to other rooms. In 
them we find many of the pieces of furniture 
which were used by the Washington family. 
Some of these pieces are very quaint and some 
are very beautiful. In the collection we find 
the key of the Bastille. Do you know who 
4 35 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

brought to America this key to the famous old 
prison in Paris? 




Banquet hall added to Mount Vernon by Washington 

The old brick barn, back of the house, was 
built in 1733, before any of the other buildings 

36 



MOUNT VERNON 

were erected. In the coachhouse we see the 
very carriage in which Washington and his fam- 
ily used to ride. 

The garden is well kept. We are much in- 
terested in the trees on the plantation, not only 
in those which were planted by Washington, 
but also in those which Ben Franklin, Jeffer- 
son and others set out. For a time we feel al- 
most as if we had stepped back into the eight- 
eenth century. 

The spot which many consider the most inter- 
esting at Mount Vernon is the Tomb of George 
Washington. It stands on a slope between the 
Potomac River and the mansion on the bluif. 
How plain and yet how beautiful everything 
here is. There are two monuments, one at the 
right and one at the left of the entrance. Look- 
ing between the bars of the iron gate we see, 
within the tomb, the two little stones which 
mark the places where George Washington and 
Martha, his wife, are buried. 

As we turn away from the spot, which to 
an American is almost sacred, we notice some 
of the trees nearby. Some of these trees were 

37 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

set out by King Edward the Seventh of England, 
who visited the United States when he was 
Prince of Wales. Prince Henry of Prussia 
was another of the many distinguished men of 
Europe who also planted trees here to keep 
green the memory of a great man. 

It is a beautiful day in autumn. The leaves 
of the trees are already tinted with bright col- 
ors. For a moment we stop to get a last view 
of the beautiful place, so that we may carry 
it forever in our memory. The bluff, the quaint 
old mansion which stands upon it, the old brick 
barn, the garden and the tomb carry us back 
to the days when our nation was born. We 
have seen the home of the good and great leader, 
who is loved by all Americans. Still he is first 
in the hearts of his countrymen. And how 
much our country owes him! 

Thoughtfully we make our way to the dock, 
to return to Washington by the little steam- 
boat which goes up the Potomac River. Soon 
the domes and spires of the great city are 
plainly seen. We are still thinking, however, 
of the man for whom the capital of the nation 

38 



MOUNT VERNON 

is named. If we are ever compelled to face 
difficulties as serious as those in which George 
Washington led the nation, we hope our leader 
will be as true and as strong a man as he. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES 

IS it not strange tliat the oldest two settle- 
ments in our country, althougli they are fif- 
teen hundred miles apart, were made by the 
same people — the Spaniards ? Both towns, too, 
were not within the limits of the United States 
when our country was young. These places are 
St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, and 
Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded in 1582. 

The Spanish explorer. Ponce de Leon, when 
he was searching for the Fountain of Youth, 
landed in Florida, in 1512, not far from the 
spot where St. Augustine now stands. He did 
not at that time, however, try to found any 
city there, although the Spaniards at once 
claimed the country. 

Many years had passed when afterward King 
Philip of Spain heard that some of the French 

40 



THE OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES 

people that liad fled from their homes in the 
Old World, had settled in Florida. The king 
immediately sent an army to drive them out. 
After his soldiers had done his bidding, they 
built a fort and founded the town which they 
named St. Augustine. 

The Si3aniards, however, soon had to fight 
the English who tried to drive out the French- 
men. Later, there were many battles with the 
English, the French, the people from Carolina 
and Georgia and also with the Indians. Sev- 
eral times the little town was besieged or set on 
fire. 

Once more St. Augustine was taken, when, 
in the Civil War, some Union troops from Port 
Eoyal captured it in 1862. It is doubtful 
whether any city in America has been captured 
so many times. 

St. Augustine, with all the rest of Florida, 
was ceded to Great Britian in 1763, but was 
given back to Spain twenty years later. At 
that time there were about fifteen hundred 
white people and nine hundred negroes living in 
the little place. 

41 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Late in 1821, all of Florida was ceded to the 
United States, and since that time St. Augus- 
tine has belonged to us. Several years passed, 
however, before the place began to grow. The 
Indians (Seminoles) in Florida carried on a 
long war with the United States and it was not 
until they were defeated that very many peo- 
ple from the North came to the city. 

In this war the Indians had a great chief 
named Osceola. The redmen used to hide in 
the Everglades, or great swamps in the south- 
ern part of Florida, from which they would 
steal forth to attack the white soldiers. These 
Everglades are really many low islands in a 
great shallow lake, covering nearly eight thou- 
sand square miles. The water in this lake in 
many places is only one foot in depth and in 
its deepest places it is not more than six feet 
deep. 

All around these islands the water is very 
clear and in it there are many fish. A few 
Seminole Indians still live in the Everglades, 
but not many white men go there. The water 
is so shallow that in many places only little 

42 



THE OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES 

boats or canoes can be used. From the trees 
great loops of moss are banging. 

It is said tbat Florida was given its name by 
Ponce de Leon, because be first saw it on Easter 
Sunday, in 1512, and be named it from the Span- 
ish word wbicb means "Tbe Land of Flowers." 

It is also said that the Spaniards were the 
first to plant oranges in tlie state. Not long 
ago, nearly five million boxes of oranges were 
sent from Florida every year. Strawberries, 
cotton, rice, sugar-cane, tobacco, lumber, 
sponges and many other sources of wealth are 
found in the state. 

When one walks about the streets of St. Au- 
gustine he finds many of them very narrow. 
Some of the houses also are very old and have 
balconies that extend out over the streets. It 
is claimed that the house opposite the barracks 
is the oldest in America. 

How strange some of these houses appear 
to a visitor from the North ! The buildings are 
made of a rock which itself is made up of count- 
less tiny shells. This rock is called coquina. 
The old fort, San Marco (now Fort Marion), 

43 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

the city gates and walls, and the great sea wall 
along which one can walk a long way, are all 
very striking because the white or gray stone 
of which they are built is so distinct among the 




The Oldest House in St. Augustine 



brilliant colors of the semi-tropical flowers that 
are growing on every side. 

Along the Plaza, by the Alameda, are strik- 
ing new houses built in the style used by the 
Spaniards many years ago. Perhaps the most 
beautiful of all are the buildings and the 
grounds of the great hotels. One of these is 

44 



THE OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES 

five hundred and twenty feet long and has tow- 
ers one hundred and sixty-five feet high. 

At the end of this street, is the sea wall on 
which there is a fine walk three-quarters of a 
mile long. 

Turning back to St. George Street, we pass 
the imposing city buildings and come to the 
end of the street at the City Gate. For a mo- 
ment we might fancy we were in one of the old 
cities in Europe, so many of which have walls 
and gates. All that remains of this gate, how- 
ever, are the two pillars twenty feet high and 
some pieces of the wall beyond. These also 
were built of coquina. 

We go on to Fort Marion which we find was 
built of the same strange stone. This old fort 
was completed in 1756. One hundred years 
passed while it was being built. When the 
Spanish general first came to St. Augustine, the 
fort which he erected was of wood. Perhaps 
it would stand almost as well, however, before 
our modern guns as would the walls of this 
white stone. 

We cross over the drawbridge and our guide 
45 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

calls our attention to the Spanish coat-of-arms 
over each end of the bridge. We see also some 
strange Spanish words carved there, but we 
do not know what they mean. 

We are taken next to the chapel and then to 
the dungeon of the old fort. Here we see the 
casement from which the Seminole chief, Coa- 
coochee, leaped and escaped. He was shut in 
this dungeon with Osceola when the Seminoles 
were making their long war on the United 
States. 

If we wish, we can row or sail on the beauti- 
ful harbor or river; or at the foot of King 
Street we can cross the bridge to Anastasia 
Island. There we can visit the quarries, from 
which the coquina stone is cut, and go on to 
North Beach, of which visitors who ride or 
drive are very fond. 

In the winter, there are ten thousand people 
living in St. Augustine. When summer comes 
only about half as many are there. The little 
city is a winter resort. It has a very mild 
climate and is in the midst of a great fruit re- 
gion and is so near the sea that it is a very at- 

46 




The Gate at St. Augustixe 



THE OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES 

tractive resort. It has been said that St. Au- 
gustine makes most of its money from its cigars 
and its tourists. 

What an unusually interesting place it is! 
How different its buildings and streets are from 
those of the North ! We are proud of the in- 
teresting little city and are glad it belongs to 
the United States. 



CHAPTER. V 

THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT 

THE first English settlement was at James- 
town, in Virginia. It was founded in 
1607. The oldest settlement in our country, 
however, is not the first. Does not that seem 
strange? Many years before this time (1607) 
the Spaniards tried to establish a settlement 
on the James Eiver, but failed. In 1585, Sir 
Walter Ealeigh sent from England two little 
boats filled with people who tried to make a 
home on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. They 
were soon starved out, however, and went back 
to England. 

Two years later, Sir Walter Raleigh helped 
more people to come to America to establish 
another colony on the same island, but they 
were lost. Not even a trace of the colony or 
the colonists was ever found, although for three 

48 



THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT 

years a search was made. Among tlie hundred 
or more people that were lost was a little girl 
named Virginia Dare, the first child of Eng- 
lish parents born within the limits of what is 
now the United States. So the oldest settle- 
ment is not always the first, as you will 
see. 

A body of Englishmen had formed what was 
called the London Company. Their purpose 
was to send people to the New World who were 
to make money for the company. The people 
who first came to Jamestown were sent by this 
London Company. After they had sailed fifty 
miles up the crooked James River, they landed 
and made their homes at Jamestown. 

The most important leader of these settlers 
was Captain John Smith. He was a very bold 
and shrewd man. He helped the people very 
much in their wars with the Indians, and he 
made many discoveries in the nearby country. 
He was, however, a man who told some wonder- 
ful stories, not all of which are believed to- 
day. 

Among the stories he told was one that one 
49 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

time when lie had been captured by the Indians, 
they decided to beat out his brains with a war- 
club. Just as he was about to be killed, Poca- 
hontas, the daughter of the Indian chief, Pow- 
hattan, threw herself upon the prisoner and by 
her pleading induced her father to set free the 
white captain. It is known that there was an 
Indian girl of that name. She married a white 
settler, and later made a visit to England, where 
she died. It was during this visit that Captain 
John Smith first told his wonderful story. 

The people of Jamestown had a very hard 
time for at least ten years. Sometimes they 
almost gave up and were ready to go back home 
to England. Their supplies had to be brought 
three thousand miles. Two years after they 
came, there was one year so severe that they 
called it the ''Starving Time." The Indians 
were not friendly, and, besides, many of the 
men that had come did not want to work. Cap- 
tain John Smith, however, forced them to work, 
with the result that very few of the colonists 
liked him. 

In 1609 he went back to England. He was 
50 



THE FIKST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT 

too restless to stay away very long, however, 
and in 1614 he returned and made a voyage 
along the coast of what he named New Eng- 
land. 

After the people of Jamestown began to raise 
tobacco, the little colony soon began to prosper. 
Tobacco was really the money of the people. 
They paid for everything they bought in so 
many pounds of tobacco. One pound was 
worth from two to twelve cents of our money. 
They could buy six times as much, however, as 
we can buy with the same sum. 

Pretty soon the people of Jamestown began 
to build their own boats and engage in com- 
merce with England. From this time the col- 
ony was highly prosperous. When the Declara- 
tion of Independence was signed, Virginia had 
become the richest and most important of the 
thirteen colonies. 

At that time, Virginia included the present 
states of Virginia, West Virginia and Ken- 
tucky. She claimed also that her territory ran 
up into the ''west and northwest," so that the 
western part of Pennsylvania and the present 
5 51 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Micliigan and 
Wisconsin really belonged to her. Her claim, 
however, was not allowed. 

In 1624, the King took back the colony of Vir- 
ginia from the London Company. There were 
some troubles afterward between the colonies 
and the people in England, but in 1673 the new 
king, Charles II, made a present of the colony 
to one of his court favorites. Nine years later, 
however, he again took back his gift. Because 
of this fact Virginia called herself the King's 
"Ancient Dominion." She claimed that she 
had been loyal all the time. To-day the state 
is often called the Old Dominion. 

The settlers at Jamestown had frequent trou- 
bles with the Indians, but not so many as some 
of the people farther north had. There were 
two Indian wars. In the first, about three hun- 
dred and fifty settlers were killed and in the 
second about three hundred. These wars were 
with the Indians of Virginia, who ceased to 
make trouble after they had been defeated in 
the second war. 

Some years afterward, the governor and a 
52 



THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT 

few of his friends got all the powers of the 
government into their own hands. Meanwhile, 
the Indians of Maryland liad been making war 
upon the Virginia settlers. One young Virginia 
planter, named Bacon, raised troops among the 
settlers. He then compelled the unpopular 
governor to fight the Maryland Indians, and 
at last he forced the governor out of James- 
town. 

In this war, Jamestown was burned and 
never was rebuilt. Williamsburg became the 
capital. The war was fiercely fought, but Bacon 
died very suddenly in the midst of the struggle 
and then the war abruptly ended. The angry 
governor promptly hanged twenty-two of the 
"rebels," and was very harsh in his dealing 
with the people of the colony. 

"The old fool," exclaimed King Charles an- 
grily when he heard of the action of the gov- 
ernor, "has taken more lives in that naked 
country than I did for the murder of my fa- 
ther!" 

To-day, a visitor at Jamestown goes ashore 
on a long landing when he leaves the steam- 

53 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

boat. As he looks about him he sees not far 
back from the river the ruins of the ivy-grown 
tower of the old church which the settlers built 
more than three hundred years ago. 

Near the tower are the crumbling tombstones 
of some of the daring people who died there in 
those far-away days. A few scattered houses 
also are to be seen in the distance, but they are 
all quite modern. Silence now rests over this 
entire region, which, in 1607, was the scene of 
the struggles, sufferings and deeds of the first 
English people to settle in America. 

The country around the settlement is very 
attractive. The river in front winds in and 
out on its way to the sea. From the bank of the 
James one can watch the steamboats coming 
from Richmond on their way to Norfolk or 
Newport News. There are many little oyster 
boats also on the river. There is over all, how- 
ever, such a calm that it is hard to believe that 
Jamestown was once the scene of so many ac- 
tivities. 

From Jamestown we drive a few miles across 
the country to Williamsburg, which, until the 

54 



THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT 

American Revolution, was the capital of Vir- 
ginia, after Jamestown was burned. 

On our way, we pass numerous plantations 
and recall that in the early years a few people 
in Virginia were very rich and many were very 
poor. Some of the houses on these great plan- 
tations stand far back from the road, and the 
driveway sometimes leads across or along the 
borders of the plowed fields. 

We see many negroes as we go on. Peer- 
ing out of a window or running out of the door- 
way of a small house, are many little pick- 
aninnies, whose dark eyes are shining with in- 
terest and on whose dusky faces there usually is 
a smile. We meet a negro driving an ox and 
a mule as the team of his wagon. 

When we arrive at Williamsburg we are im- 
pressed by the quaintness of the little town of 
two thousand people. The chief street is the 
Duke of Gloucester Street. It is very broad 
and extends one mile from the College of Wil- 
liam and Mary to the old colonial capital. On 
this street are some very old buildings. Among 
those in which we are especially interested are 

55 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

the Poor Debtors' Prison, the old Bruton Par- 
ish Church and the Court House, which has 
been in use ever since it was built in 1769. 

The College of William and Mary was 
founded in Williamsburg in 1692. Three presi- 
dents of our country were graduated there. 
The first buildings erected were destroyed by 
fire. Those which one now sees on the attrac- 
tive campus are quite modern. With the excep- 
tion of Harvard, the College of William and 
Mary is the oldest college in the United States. 

In the early days there were very few vil- 
lages in Virginia. As most of the people lived 
on plantations the sons of the owners were sent 
to schools in England. Indeed, Governor Berke- 
ley publicly said, "I thank God there are no 
free schools nor printing (in Virginia) and I 
hope we shall not have them these hundred 
years." 

We must not leave this interesting region 
without going a few miles farther to Yorktown, 
where the last battle of the American Revolu- 
tion was fought. Here Lord Comwallis was 
besieged by Washington and Lafayette and 

56 



THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT 

their armies, while the fleet of Count de Grasse 
prevented help from coming in ships to the 
British. 

Cornwallis and his eight thousand redcoats 
finally surrendered October 19, 1781. 

Here, too, in the Civil War, from April 5 to 
May 4, 1862, General McClellan besieged the 
little place, for many Confederates were gath- 
ered there. The latter, however, departed 
from Yorktown and the siege was then raised. 
There was also a battle at Williamsburg a few 
days afterward. May 5, 1862. 

In and about Jamestown, then, have been en- 
acted some of the principal events of our coun- 
try's history. When one stands near the crum- 
bling ruins of the tower of the old church he 
recalls the long struggle of the Civil War. He 
reflects also on the stirring surrender of Corn- 
wallis. And finally, in imagination he sees this 
as the place where first the handful of English 
landed in the wilderness to make it their home. 
What heartaches, what bloodshed, what glory 
has the country about Jamestown known! 



CHAPTER VI 

INDEPENDENCE HALL 

AMONG the many quaint brick buildings in 
Philadelphia, there are two that are fa- 
mous throughout the world. Both of them, too, 
are very old. Even the parts of the buildings 
which have had to be repaired have been kept 
as far as possible just like those which were 
first made. 

The style in which they were built shows 
plainly that both buildings belong to former 
days. The quaint brick walls, the windows and 
stairways, even the ceilings and floors are dif- 
ferent from those which are made to-day. 

From nine o'clock in the morning until four 
o 'clock in the afternoon both buildings are open 
daily to the public. Every year many thou- 
sands of people visit them. 

One of these buildings is Independence Hall, 
58 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 

in wliich the independence of the American Col- 
onies was declared. The other building is Car- 
penter's Hall, in which the first Continental 
Congress assembled in 1774. 

In order to understand why these quaint, old 
buildings mean so much to Americans to-day, 
it is necessary to tell again the story of what 
took place in them so many years ago. 

By 1774, the feeling in the American Colonies 
against the party in control in Great Britain 
had become very bitter. What have been 
called the Four Intolerable Acts (described on 
page 74), perhaps most of all had made the peo- 
ple in America very angry. 

The resentment became so strong that there 
were many calls for a Continental Congress. 
"Continental" means general. Before this a 
colonial congress had met in New York to pro- 
test against the Stamp Act. That was nine 
years before this time and not all the colonies 
were represented in the assembly. Now, how- 
ever, the Congress met in Carpenter's Hall, 
Philadelphia. It was properly called a ''Con- 
tinental Congress," because all the colonies, ex- 

59 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

cept Georgia, sent delegates. The Governor 
of Georgia p'revented her people from doing as 
the other colonies did. 

The first Continental Congress assembled in 
Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, September 5, 
1774. The members were very serious and 
earnest. After they had stated and considered 
their grievances very carefully, they finally sent 
an address to Great Britain complaining of 
their wrongs. They sent also a petition to 
King George praying for help against the un- 
just laws. And then they did more. They 
drew up an agreement which they called the 
Articles of Association. These articles were 
signed by many men in every colony. In them 
the colonists promised one another not to buy 
any goods from the people of Great Britain or 
to sell anything to them until the existing laws 
had been changed. 

This first Congress also praised the people 
of Massachusetts for their courage in resisting 
the unfair laws. The assembly declared that 
if the British Parliament should try by force 
to compel the people of Massachusetts to obey 

60 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 

these laws, then all the other colonies would 
use force to help their neighbors in their trou- 
bles. 

Before the first Congress adjourned, it pro- 
vided for a call for a new meeting to be held the 
following May. 

The second Continental Congress met in In- 
dependence Hall, Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. 
This was even a more serious assembly than 
the former had been. Almost all that the first 
Congress had done had been to pass resolutions 
and voice certain protests. This new Congress, 
however, had to make some new laws. The 
battles at Lexington and Concord and Bunker 
Hill had already been fought, and all the col- 
onists now were greatly excited. 

The second Congress declared that the sol- 
diers around Boston now became theirs, and 
were to be the Continental Army. Congress 
also promised to raise money with which to pay 
the expenses of the troops. 

There was a keen feeling among the members 
over the selection of the man to be the com- 
mander-in-chief. The men from New England 

61 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

were very strongly in favor of General Artemas 
Ward, who not long before had been a leader in 
the wars with the French and Indians. 

One morning, Samuel Adams, of Massachu- 
setts, a member of the Congress, when he came 
to Independence Hall found his cousin, John 
Adams, slowly walking up and down the brick 
sidewalk in front of the building. 

Aware that questions of great importance 
were to be decided, Samuel Adams said, "What 
is it this morning, Cousin John?" 

' ' Oh, it is the army, the army ! I do not know 
what to do for a commander." 

"Why, General Artemas Ward will be 
elected ! ' ' 

"Not so." 

"Pray, why not?" inquired Samuel Adams 
in surprise. "The general is the idol of the 
New England troops." 

"True, but already New England is assum- 
ing too much. We must hold the colonies to- 
gether, or we never shall succeed. ' ' 

"Whom have you in mind?" 

"Colonel Washington of Virginia." 
62 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 

Later, in the session of Congress, John 
Adams arose from his seat and in an eloquent 
speech nominated George Washington to be 
the commander-in-chief. His cousin, Samuel 
Adams, as he had promised, seconded the mo- 
tion. 

Washington was a member of the Congress, 
being one of the delegates from Virginia. At 
the session he was clad in the uniform of a 
colonial colonel. Without any knowledge of 
what John Adams was about to say he sat look- 
ing directly at the face of the speaker. When 
he heard his name mentioned by Adams as the 
one to be selected for the high office, it is said 
that his face flushed and tears came into his 
eyes. He abruptly arose and left the room. 

After he had been elected, in a very modest 
speech he accepted the position. He said also 
that he would not take any salary for his serv- 
ices. Not long afterward he departed to as- 
sume command of the little army at Cambridge. 

There were many men in the second Con- 
gress whose names to-day are counted among 
the great Americans. 

63 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

From Massachusetts were John Adams, Sam- 
uel Adams and John Hancock. The last named 
sometimes was called ''King" Hancock, be- 
cause as President of the Congress he was very 
firm in insisting that his own plans should be 
adopted. 

John Jay of New York, Koger Sherman and 
Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut were also pres- 
ent. Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris 
represented Pennsylvania. George Washing- 
ton, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Eich- 
ard Henry Lee and Peyton Randolph were dele- 
gates from Virginia. From South Carolina 
came Christopher Gadsden and Henry Laurens. 

As the feeling of the colonists grew stronger 
and the war became more than a fight between 
a few "farmers" and the British regulars, the 
Congress was urged to declare the independ- 
ence of the colonies. Accordingly a committee 
of five was appointed by the assembly to pre- 
pare a Declaration of Independence. 

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration. 
The four other members of the committee — 
John Adams, Franklin, Sherman and Living- 

64 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 

ston — did very little of the work of preparation. 
When it was presented to the Congress, John 
Adams, however, did most of the speaking for 
it, as Jefferson, although he was a great writer, 
was not a very eloquent speaker. 

After Congress had adopted the Declaration 
of Independence, it is said the old bell in the 
tower of Independence Hall was rung a long 
time. The Declaration also was read to the 
throng of people that speedily assembled in In- 
dependence Square. This square is an open 
space covering about four acres directly behind 
Independence Hall. 

Naturally, the first building we visit is Car- 
penter's Hall, where the first Continental Con- 
gress assembled. In the old building we see 
the very chairs that were used by the members 
in 1774. Many other rare and interesting his- 
torical relics are kept there. We are most in- 
terested, however, in an inscription on the walls 
in front of us: ''Within these walls Henry, 
Hancock and Adams inspired the delegates of 
the Colonies with nerve and sinew for the toils 
of war." 

65 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Next we go on to Independence Hall, which 
is only a short distance away. The old brick 
building was the state house of the colony of 
Pennsylvania. At that time the steeple which 
we now see had not been built. It was added to 
the building later. 

We enter the Hall and turn to the left. We 
pass to the east room or the real Independence 
Hall, for there the Declaration of Independence 
was adopted. This is the birthplace of the 
United States. 

The room has not been much changed since 
Congress met in it. The floor, however, and 
some of the old furniture have had to be re- 
placed. On the walls are hanging portraits of 
nearly all the men who signed the Declaration. 
An exact copy of the Declaration is kept in this 
room. 

Up one flight of stairs is a gallery of pictures 
in which are portraits of other famous Ameri- 
cans. We are interested, too, in a piece of the 
elm tree, beneath which William Penn signed 
his treaty with the Indians in 1682. Do you 
know why the Indians made less trouble for the 

66 




Independence Hai^l 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 

early settlers in Pennsylvania, or at least for 
the settlers about PMladelpliia, than they did 
for the people in other colonies! 

In another room we see two of Penn's chairs; 
the church-pew and the sofa of Washington; 
and a wonderful painting, '^ Penn's Treaty with 
the Indians," by Benjamin West, a famous 
American artist. There, too, is a portrait of 
Martha AVashington and also one of Key, the 
author of "The Star Spangled Banner." In 
still other rooms are portraits of officers in the 
Continental Army and of the foreign generals 
that came to America to help our forefathers 
fight for their independence. 

We are much interested also in the portraits 
of the members of the Convention which met to 
prepare the Constitution of the new country. 
I^his Constitution finally was ratified in June, 
1788, when New Hampshire by its vote made 
the ninth State in favor of it and thereby pro- 
vided the last vote required. Ehode Island and 
North Carolina voted against ratifying the Con- 
stitution. 

On the stairway are hanging portraits of 
6 67 ' 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

King George III and of Lafayette and Cheva- 
lier Gerard and other famous men who helped 
the United States in those trying days. 

In the wings of Independence Hall many in- 
teresting relics are kept in a national museum. 




Liberty Bell 

Here we find many old books, newspapers, post- 
ers, costumes, etc. The old and tattered "ser- 
pent," or "rattlesnake," flags carried by the 
Pennsylvania soldiers on their march to Cam- 
bridge in 1775, strongly appeal to our patriot- 

68 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 

ism. And there is Ben Franklin's lightning 
rod. 

Perhaps more than all of these things, how- 
ever, the sight of Liberty Bell stirs our hearts. 
This famous old bell is now kept in the little 
hall back of the staircase and opposite the main 
entrance of the building. 

The bell has not been rung since 1843. It is 
best known because it was rung to inform the 
people of Philadelphia soon after the Congress 
voted, July 4, 1776, that the American colonies 
were to be an independent nation and no longer 
were to be a part of the British Empire. 

A great crack was made in the bell in 1835, 
when it was tolled a long time for the funeral 
of John Marshall, who had been chief justice of 
the United States. 

Liberty Bell was made, or cast, in London in 
1752. It was recast after it was brought to this 
country. The same motto was inscribed on it 
which was there before, "Proclaim liberty 
throughout the land unto all the inhabitants 
thereof." 



CHAPTER VII 

CONCORD AND LEXINGTON 

NEAR a village about twenty miles north 
of Boston, there is a bridge across the 
little Concord River. It is a small wooden 
structure and not very many people cross it in 
a day. Yet this is one of the most famous 
bridges in America. 

Near one end of the bridge is a bronze tablet 
on which it is stated that, in the battle fought 
here in 1775, the first blood was shed in armed 
resistance to the English King. Here is where 
the American colonists began their struggle for 
independence. 

It is not quite true that the first blood in the 
struggle for the independence of the Colonies 
was shed here. Before this time men had given 
up their lives in New York City, in North Caro- 
lina and elsewhere, fighting for their liberty. It 

70 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON 

is true, however, that in the fight near this little 
bridge, the war, which lasted eight years, really 
began. 

Before one arrives at the bridge on his way 
from Boston he passes through another attrac- 
tive village, the name of which is often joined 
with that of Concord. This place is Lexing- 
ton. Near the common or green in the center 
of the town there is a beautiful monument on 
which is recorded the names of the men who 
fell in battle here, April 19, 1775. On some of 
the bowlders, or great rocks nearby, one finds 
bronze tablets commemorating the deeds and 
men engaged in that conflict. 

On the north side of the green stands the old 
Buckman Tavern. A tablet here informs us that 
this is the place where the minutemen gathered 
when they heard that the redcoats were coming. 
On a nearby street is the quaint, little house in 
which Samuel Adams and John Hancock were 
aroused in the middle of the night before the 
battle, by Paul Eevere, when he took his famous 
''midnight ride" to inform the people of the 
region that the redcoats were coming. Both 

71 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Hancock and Samuel Adams were very active 
in those early days in their efforts to make the 
American colonies independent of Great Brit- 
ain. 

After one arrives at Concord he is impressed 
by the sight of some of the noblest elm trees he 
has ever seen. Here, too, are houses which 
every year are visited by many strangers. The 
places are interesting because they were the 
homes of some of the foremost writers in 
America. 

Here lived Emerson, who wrote many famous 
essays. He has been called the sage of Con- 
cord. Here is the house in which Horace Mann, 
the great teacher, lived. Concord was also the 
home of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry 
Thoreau, whose names are well known for their 
writings. Perhaps the house in which Louisa 
M. Alcott lived is the most interesting of all to 
American boys and girls. She was the author 
of Little Women ' ' and ' ' Little Men. ' ' There 
are also many other attractive houses in the 
village. 

Other places have tablets on them which 
72 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON 

record the reasons why Concord is such an in- 
teresting village to all Americans. The old 
Wright Tavern is the place where the British 
officers were quartered on the morning of the 
battle. Just beyond the North Bridge is a fine 
statue of the Minuteman. By the gun in the 
hands of the man and the plow by his side, Mr. 
French, who made the statue, shows us how 
earnest the minutemen were in their efforts to 
gain their freedom. 

All these tablets and statues in Lexington and 
Concord make us want to know more of the 
story of the deeds which they record. 

Many years ago there was no United States. 
Then the colonies in America which belonged 
to Great Britain were having trouble with some 
of the English leaders. 

In 1770 a law was passed in England taking 
the taxes in the colonies off all articles except 
tea. This was done not because England did 
not want the other articles taxed, but to show 
that she had a right to tax the people in the 
colonies instead of allowing them to pass laws 
for themselves. 

73 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

The people in America became very angry, 
and would not drink tea. What is called the 
'' Boston Tea Party" soon took place. Some 
men dressed as Indians, boarded the ships which 
had brought tea to Boston and the angry Ameri- 
cans threw into the harbor every one of the 
three hundred and forty cases in her cargo. 
The English leaders now lost their tempers and 
passed, among others, four acts to which they 
declared the colonists must agree. 

The first act forbade all vessels to leave or 
enter Boston Harbor. The second changed the 
charter of Massachusetts so that the control of 
the colony was taken from the people and given 
to the agents of the King. The third ordered 
that every American who should commit murder 
in resisting the tax laws should be sent to Eng- 
land for trial. The fourth made the country 
north of the Ohio Eiver and east of the Missis- 
sippi a part of Canada. 

The people were greatly excited as well as 
angry. They began to make powder and guns. 
They were preparing for war. 

Early in 1775, the men of Massachusetts had 
74 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON 

collected powder and arms and had lists of 
several thousand minutemen. These men were 
to be enrolled for quick service and were to be 
ready to march at a ''minute's warning." 

General Gage, who was in command of the 
British soldiers in Boston, became alarmed by 
the reports. He began to fortify the neck of 
land which joined Boston to the mainland. 
Then he sent spies into the country to find out 
just what the people were doing. 

It was not long before he heard that in the 
village of Concord, about twenty miles from 
Boston, much powder and many guns had been 
collected and stored by the rebels. 

General Gage then sent eight hundred sol- 
diers to destroy these supplies. He thought he 
was moving very secretly, but some people in 
Boston quietly sent word to their friends on the 
mainland. All through the night men were rid- 
ing about the country, calling for the minutemen 
to turn out. The poem, "The Midnight Ride of 
Paul Revere," by Longfellow, tells how this was 
done. 

On the road between Boston and Concord is 
75 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Lexington. The British soldiers marched into 
the little village just before sunrise, April 19, 
1775. 

When they came to the village green they 
found about sixty farmers assembled there. 
Major Pitcairn ordered the redcoats to fire 
upon the farmers. Eight of the minutemen 
were killed, many were wounded. The rest fled 
from the place. 

The British then went on to Concord, and 
after a heroic attempt by the few colonial sol- 
diers that had taken their stand at the little 
bridge to try to keep the redcoats from crossing, 
the regulars drove away the minutemen. It 
was easy then for the redcoats to destroy all 
the powder and the guns that had been collected. 
As soon as this had been done they prepared to 
go back to Boston. 

By this time the entire region was up in 
arms. For miles around, church bells had been 
ringing wildly and the minutemen were hasten- 
ing to Concord like bees buzzing around a hive. 

The British soldiers withdrew in an orderly 
way at first, but the farmers meanwhile were 

76 



CONCORD AND LEXINGTON 

firing at them from behind houses, or fences, 
or rocks along the sides of the road. And the 
numbers of the minutemen were steadily in- 
creasing. They were all good shots, for they 
had had much practice in hunting. Before the 
redcoats came back as far as Lexington they 
were running along the road and the minutemen 
were chasing them. 

At Lexingion, nine hundred fresh soldiers 
from Boston came with cannon to help their 
comrades. The coming of these fresh troops 
gave the other redcoats a brief rest. They 
were so tired that, it is said, ''their tongues 
were hanging out of their mouths like dogs after 
a chase." 

When the British again started for Boston 
the minutemen still kept up their pursuit. It 
was almost night when the British soldiers came 
back and found shelter under the guns of the 
ships-of-war. The British had lost two hun- 
dred and seventy-three men; and there were 
eighty-eight minutemen killed. 

Many of the minutemen stayed in front of 
Boston to attack any soldiers who might come 

77 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

out. This was the way in which the War of 
the Eevolution began. 

And this tablet at the little bridge over the 
Concord River, where the minutemen dared to 
stand against the British soldiers, April 19, 
1775, is surely one of the places every Ameri- 
can wants to know. Here it was that the War 
of Independence broke out. This is where "the 
embattled farmers stood and fired the shot 
heard 'round the world." 



CHAPTER VIII 

BUNKER HILL 

SOON after the fight at Lexington and Con- 
cord, more British soldiers were sent to 
Boston, nntil General Gage had ten thousand 
men under his command. About twice as many 
minutemen, poorly equipped and without experi- 
ence, were on the hills of the mainland nearby. 
They did not have any cannon nor much to eat, 
and never had been trained for war. Besides, 
many of them did not have guns, while those 
that did have them had little powder. 

Just north of Boston there is a point of land 
on which there are several hills. The Ameri- 
cans decided to take and fortify one of them 
named Bunker Hill. 

One night in June, 1775, about fifteen hun- 
dred went quietly over to that hill, but they 
soon decided to pass on until they were on 

79 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Breed's Hill, instead of Bunker Hill, wliich at 
first they had intended to fortify. They 
worked all night long, trying all the time to 
prevent their enemies from hearing them in 
their labors. When morning came, June 17, 
1775, the British awoke to see a long line of 
earthworks on the hill above them. At that 
very time the minutemen were still busily work- 
ing on their trenches. 

The British boats in the harbor began to fire 
at the working party, but the minutemen did 
not pay very much attention to them. When 
noon came, the work was stopped, for at that 
time the British soldiers were seen coming 
across the harbor in boats. There were three 
thousand of these men. In their bright uni- 
forms they presented a very striking appear- 
ance when they landed near Charlestown. We 
wonder what the farmer-soldiers on the hill 
were thinking when they saw the regulars, as 
they were called, form in line at the foot of the 
hill and begin to march up it. 

Over in Boston people on the tops of the 
houses or in the high windows were excitedly 

80 



BUNKER HILL 

watching to see ''whether the Yankee soldiers 
would fight." Most of the people thought the 
minutemen would fire a few shots and then run 
away. 

Scarcely a word had been spoken by the wait- 
ing Americans. Up the hill steadily and con- 
fidently marched the redcoats, who had never 
been defeated. On they came until they were 
within fifty yards of the farmers. Then almost 
a sheet of fire came from the rifles of the min- 
utemen. 

When the smoke cleared away many of the 
British soldiers were lying dead or wounded 
on the ground, and the rest were running swiftly 
down the hill. 

The British soldiers, however, were not cow- 
ards. When they came to the bottom of the 
hill their lines were formed again there and once 
more they marched up the hill toward the place 
where the minutemen were waiting behind their 
earthworks. 

Again there was silence among the farmers. 
When the lines of redcoats came near, once 
more a deadly fire was poured into them. This 

81 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

time, too, the British soldiers were driven down 
the hill. 

But still they did not give up. The third time 
they formed and marched up the hill. It is too 
bad that then the powder of the minutemen was 
all gone. They could not fire again at their 
enemies. 

When the redcoats came close the minutemen 
for a brief time fought them with stones and 
with the stocks of their guns, but the British 
soldiers had bayonets and it was not long be- 
fore the hill was taken and the defenders were 
driven away. The redcoats, however, were too 
tired to follow the fleeing farmers, most of 
whom escaped. 

Out of the fifteen hundred Americans in the 
battle four hundred and forty-nine were lost. 
The British had more than twice as many sol- 
diers in their attacking party, but their loss was 
more than double that of the minutemen. This 
struggle was the Battle of Bunker Hill, for the 
actual name of the hill was not given to the 
fight. 



^&^ 



A few days after the Battle of Bunker Hill, 
82 



BUNKER HILL 

General Wasliing-ton came to Cambridge and 
took command of tlie army of fourteen thou- 
sand Americans that had gathered there from 
ahnost all the colonies. 

There were many different kinds of flags 
among the various troops. The most common 
one had a rattlesnake painted or worked upon 
it, and bore the motto : ''Do not tread on me." 
Another was the Pine Tree flag. Do you know 
what that flag was and which troops carried 
it? 

Not all the men had uniforms. Many of the 
American soldiers wore hunting-shirts that had 
been dyed brown. Such as could afford them 
wore outfits of blue and buff. These were the 
''rebel" colors in the Eevolution. 

General Washington soon decided to fortify a 
hill south of Boston just as the minutemen had 
done on Bunker Hill. 

Once more the Americans worked silently and 
swiftly all night long. When morning came 
and the British saw the guns on Dorchester 
Heights threatening them they decided to leave 
Boston. The soldiers went on board the wait- 
"^ 83 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOAV 




ing British fleet and on March 17 all sailed away 
for Halifax. 

Throughout the remaining part of the War 
of the Revolution the leading battles were 
fought outside New England. 

To-day one of the most striking sights in 
Boston is the Bunker Hill Monument. The 
Monument was completed 
in 1842. It was built so 
that people would not for- 
get the Battle of Bunker 
Hill and the independence 
for which the sturdy men 
were contending. 

The Monument is gran- 
ite and is two hundred and 
twenty-one feet high. You 
can enter it and climb the 
two hundred and ninety- 
four steps to the extreme top, if you desire. 
From the top of the Monument one has a won- 
derful panoramic view of Boston, Boston Har- 
bor, the Charles and the Mystic Eivers, Cam- 
bridge and the Blue Hills beyond. 

84 



«*=*«*SF| 



Bunker Hill Monument 



CHAPTER IX 

TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

TRENTON is a large and busy city. It is 
tlie capital of New Jersey, and the gilded 
dome of its state house can he seen far away. 
More than one hundred thousand people live in 
the city. 

In Trenton are parks and wide, shaded streets 
that help to make the city attractive. Boats on 
the Delaware River sail between Trenton and 
Philadelphia. In the city are great potteries, 
wire works, brass foundries and factories. It is 
one of the oldest cities in New Jersey. 

Princeton contains six thousand inhabitants. 
It is best known as the place where Princeton 
University is located. This University is one 
of the oldest in the United States. It was 
founded at Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1746, and 
was moved to Princeton eleven years later. 

85 




1^ 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

The college buildings and campus are shaded by 
great trees and are beautiful and very at- 
tractive. 

Years ago Princeton University was called 
the College of New Jersey and often was re- 
ferred to as Nassau Hall, which is the name of 
its oldest building. In this building the Con- 
gress met from June 16 to November 4, 1783. 
Here, too, George Washington, when the War of 
the Kevolution was ended, received the thanks 
of the nation. 

Both Trenton and Princeton, however, ought 
to be known by every young American as the 
places where battles were fought which were 
the turning points in the history of our country. 
In Trenton there stands a high granite shaft, on 
the top of which is a bronze statue of Washing- 
ton, who was standing near this spot when he 
directed his soldiers in the attack on the Hes- 
sians. This is called the Battle Monument. All 
who see it are reminded of the Battle of Tren- 
ton. At Princeton, too, there soon is to be an 
imposing monument in honor of the brave men 
who fought in the battle there between the Col- 

87 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

onists and the soldiers of King George, Janu- 
ary 3, 1777. The Battle of Trenton took place 
a few days before that time. It was fought just 
before daylight, December 26, 1776. 

On the fourth of the preceding July, the 
American Colonies had declared themselves to 
be free. That was the birthday of our nation. 

Many troubles arose as soon as independence 
was declared. After the British withdrew from 
Boston (page 84), Washington with his army 
went to New York. There, too, a little later, 
came the British boats and men. The Battle of 
Long Island (August 27, 1776) was soon fought 
and in it the Americans were badly defeated. 

The New England fishermen in Washington's 
army safely brought the defeated soldiers in 
boats across the East River to New York. A 
heavy fog had settled over the river at that time. 
If it had not been for this good fortune very 
likely Washington's little army would have been 
captured or destroyed. 

Then General Howe tried to attack the Con- 
tinental soldiers in New York. But Washing- 
ton was very shrewd and cautious, and did his 

88 



hi 



> 



V 









" "' yi'^^ -^^^ . ' wi f ' '^ '• ''S' - 







ii 
















v*^' 



^ 



The Gate to Princeton University 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

utmost to prevent an engagement. Although 
battles were fought at Harlem, Fort Washing- 
ton and White Plains, the British general did 
not succeed in capturing the "old fox," as he 
called Washington. 

General Charles Lee, whom many believe to 
be one of the greatest traitors in the history of 
the United States, was at this time near Peeks- 
kill, on the east bank of the Hudson River, in 
command of a part of the American troops. 
General Greene was in command of Fort Lee, on 
the New Jersey shore of the Hudson, nearly op- 
posite Fort Washington in New York. 

The Americans placed guards on three sides 
of Fort Lee. The north side was not so well 
guarded because the British were in New York 
and it was not believed they would attack the 
fort on its northern side. 

But that is just what Lord Cornwallis did. In 
the night, his soldiers were taken in boats up the 
Hudson River. When morning came they were 
marching upon Fort Lee on the side which had 
been left unprotected. 

When our soldiers found the redcoats were 
89 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

coming, they fled, leaving behind them their 
breakfast, their tents, and much of their cloth- 
ing, and hastily started on what has been called 
the "retreat across the Jerseys." 

How heavy the heart of General Washington, 
the commander, must have been. More of his 
soldiers were now prisoners in New York than 
were left in his little army of twenty-six hundred 
men. He was fighting one of the strongest 
nations on earth. Do you wonder that many of 
his soldiers had become discouraged? As the 
army marched on, men kept dropping from the 
ranks and the lines became thinner all the way 
and every day. 

But General Washington did not give uf). 
That was something he had never learned to do. 

So close was the pursuit that when the Ameri- 
can soldiers marched out of Newark they could 
hear the fifes and drums of the redcoats close 
behind them. 

When Washington came to New Brunswick, 
he burned the bridge across the Karitan River. 
He hoped by doing this that he might be able to 
delay the pursuing force. 

90 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

"Wasliington kept on until, with his army, he 
had crossed the Delaware River. Then his little 
force was divided into three parts. 

He had sent word to General Charles Lee, on 
the Hudson, to come to his aid. But Lee did not 
leave until it was too late to help the great com- 
mander and he himself soon afterwards was 
taken prisoner by the British near Morristown. 
Lee did not like to live with his soldiers, so he 
was staying in a little inn outside the camp. 
When the redcoats learned that he was doing 
this, early one morning they surrounded the 
place and easily took him prisoner. Some think 
that was just what Charles Lee most wanted. 

General Gates and General Sullivan came with 
their few men to the help of Washington, but all 
together there were not more than six thousand 
men in the army that the redcoats were pur- 
suing. 

When the Americans crossed the Delaware 
and were no longer in one body. Lord Corn- 
wallis, the leader of the British army, concluded 
that the end of the war had come. The 
*' rebels," as he called the Americans, had been 

91 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

defeated and now had been scattered. He de- 
cided to sail back to England. Taking liis red- 
coats, who were the soldiers of the King, and 
leaving at Trenton the Hessian soldiers, who 
had been hired by King George to help defeat 
the Americans, he started for New York. 

Washington decided that if he did not do 
something to help the colonies now it would soon 
be too late. Many already had given np hope. 
The soldiers were discouraged and the cause 
seemed almost lost. Still the great man did not 
give up. 

Christmas night promised to be dark and 
stormy. General Washington was confident 
that the Hessians at Trenton would be celebrat- 
ing the day. The very fact that they were far 
from home, he believed, would tend to increase 
their desires to make much of the festivities, 
just as their families would be doing across the 
sea. 

He planned for General Gates to cross the 
river at Burlington that night, and told General 
Ewing to cross the Delaware directly opposite 
Trenton and attack that town. At the same 

92 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

time, Washington, Greene and otlier officers 
and soldiers were to cross the Delaware about 
nine miles above Trenton, and advance upon the 
place on its northern side. 

General Gates begged off, saying that he was 
ill. General Ewing said the storm and the ice 
in the river prevented him from crossing. But 
neither storm nor ice stopped Washington. 

At sunset, on Christmas Day, 1776, his little 
force of twenty-five hundred men began to cross 
the Delaware. The wind was howling, a severe 
storm was raging and great blocks of ice were 
borne swiftly down the river by the strong cur- 
rent. The hardy fishermen from Massachu- 
setts, who had helped the Americans to cross the 
East River to New York, after the battle of Long 
Island, now in little boats attempted to row the 
army across the Delaware. Ten long hours the 
boats went back and forth from shore to shore, 
until at last all the soldiers were safe on the 
Jersey side. 

Nine miles still remained between the little 
army and Trenton. In the face of a blinding 
storm of snow and sleet, over the half-frozen 

93 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

roads, the soldiers marched. They were 
drenched and cold, their guns were wet, their 
scanty clothing was stiff with ice, their shoeless 
feet left bloody marks on the snow, but still they 
pushed forward. Something of the lion heart 
of their great leader was now shared by his 
men. 

Washington was not mistaken. The Hessians 
at Trenton were celebrating Christmas night 
with noisy songs and shouts and drinking bouts. 
Colonel Rail himself, the commander of the Hes- 
sians, was spending the night at the home of 
Abraham Hunt. 

Hunt was a man who was dealing with both 
armies and was true to neither. On this par- 
ticular night he had invited Colonel Rail and a 
few others to a Christmas supper at his home. 
Far into the night the officers were playing cards 
and drinking. 

Colonel Rail was about to ''deal," when his 
negro servant, against direct orders, came into 
the room in which the guests were assembled 
and thrust a note into the hand of the Hessian 
officer. The negro tried to explain that the let- 

94 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

ter had been brought by a man who had said that 
Colonel Rail must have it instantly. The note 
was from a Tory who had seen the Americans 
marching toward the city. However, Colonel 
Rail did not stop even to look at the missive, but 
thrust it hastily into his pocket unread. 

In two divisions the Americans approached 
the town. In a few minutes, with their bayonets 
they drove back the guards. Very soon they 
had their cannon so planted that they could 
sweep the streets of Trenton. 

The Hessian colonel now was fully aware of 
his peril. He rushed from Hunt's house and 
tried to rally his men. It was too late. Colonel 
Rail himself was shot, as also were sixteen of his 
soldiers. Nearly one thousand of the Hessians 
were made prisoners by the victorious Ameri- 
cans. It is said that the Hessians felt worse 
because their flags were taken than they did be- 
cause their men were captured. The American 
loss was two men killed and two wounded. 

Just as soon as Lord Cornwallis, who had 
gone as far as New Brunswick on his way to 
New York, heard of the victory at Trenton he 

95 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

instantly gave up his plan of sailing for Eng- 
land. 

With his soldiers he at once started back 
toward Trenton. 

January 2, 1777, Lord Cornwallis, with eight 
thousand men, marched out from Princeton on 
his way to Trenton. At nightfall, when he ar- 
rived at the end of his journey, he found the 
Americans encamped on the opposite side of 
a little stream that flowed into the Delaware 
Kiver not far from Trenton. The name of this 
stream was the Assunpink. 

So eager was Cornwallis to capture the "old 
fox" that he ordered liis soldiers at once to cross 
the bridge over this creek. However, when the 
Americans poured a fierce fire into the ad- 
vancing redcoats they quickly drew back. 
Cornwallis decided to wait until morning before 
he again should attack his enemy. 

**Now," he said confidently, "I have bagged 
the old fox." 

And Washington certainly was a "fox." 
Bidding his soldiers collect all the rails and 
boards they could find in the vicinity of their 

96 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

camp, he left a few men to keep the campfires 
burning through the night. At the same time 
he with his army started for Princeton, where 
some of the British soldiers still were stationed. 

When he came near to Princeton, he met a 
body of redcoats that had started for Trenton to 
join Cornwallis. A battle at once was begun 
which lasted less than a half-hour. In that brief 
time, however, Washington succeeded in cutting 
the British troops into two sections. One part 
now was running toward Trenton, while the 
other was going just as fast toward New Bruns- 
wick, where the British kept their stores and 
supplies. 

Less than one hundred Americans had fallen 
in the fierce struggle at Princeton, January 3, 
1776. Twice as many redcoats were dead or 
wounded, and three hundred more were prison- 
ers of the *'old fox." 

But Cornwallis was a brave man and at once 
started from Trenton to aid his comrades at 
Princeton. 

The sun, however, was up before the British 
left Trenton. The hard, frozen roads, over 

97 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

which Washington's men had easily dragged 
their cannon, were now made soft by the warm 
sunlight. This fact caused many delays for the 
determined British forces. 

When the redcoats arrived near Princeton 
their cannon hastily scattered the men who were 
discovered throwing into the stream the planks 
of the bridge over Stony Brook. 

The redcoats were brave and they quickly 
dashed through the cold water. But when they 
entered Princeton the "old fox" and his sol- 
diers were gone! 

The victories which Washington won at Tren- 
ton and Princeton became a turning point in 
our liistory. Without doubt, if these tw^o bat- 
tles had not been won just then, his retreating 
army would have scattered. Perhaps his men 
would have been made prisoners. At any rate 
hope would have died in the hearts of most of 
the colonists. 

Quickly a change became manifest in the feel- 
ings of the people throughout the colonies. The 
Congress gave AYashington powers that made 
him almost a dictator in the new world. Plans 

98 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

were made for increasing the numbers of his 
troops. The soldiers who had said they must 
leave the army and go home to care for their 
families and farms were induced to remain. 
To every soldier who was willing to enlist for 
three years, or until the end of the war, one 
hundred acres of land were promised as a gift. 
The country now was ringing with the praises 
of Washington and his brave men. He had 
changed the course of American history. And 
he did more. He taught us all, that, whatever 
other lessons 'we may learn, there is one which 
we never ought to learn, and that is to give up. 



CHAPTER X 

THE OLDEST COLLEGE IN AMERICA 

THIS is Harvard University. It is located 
in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
near Boston. Between Cambridge and Boston 
trolley-cars are running nearly all the time. If 
one did not know, he might find it hard to say 
just where one city ends and the other begins. 

Most of these trolley-cars come close to the 
University Yard. Indeed, Harvard Square, 
which is close by, might be called the center of 
the activities of Cambridge. 

We find that there are two main entrances to 
the Harvard Yard. Before we enter, we stop 
to admire the beautiful gates. Beyond us we 
see many of the imposing buildings of the Uni- 
versity. 

Among the many buildings, some plainly are 
new; others, however, are very old. Perhaps 

100 



THE OLDEST COLLEGE IN AMERICA 

the older ones impress us just as mucli as the 
new ones, although in a different way. 

We find the oldest college building is Massa- 
chusetts Hall. It is a quaint structure that was 
erected in 1720. Harvard Hall was built in 
1766. 

In our stroll we stop at the University Li- 
brary. We are told that this is one of the larg- 
est libraries in our country. On its shelves 
there are seven hundred thousand books. We 
are deeply interested in the autographs of many 
great men which are to be seen there. 

Many famous men are graduates of Harvard. 
Three Presidents of the United States are 
among the number. John Adams was in the 
class of 1755. John Quincy Adams was in the 
class of 1787, and Theodore Roosevelt was in 
the class of 1880. Edward Everett, the great 
orator, Prescott, George Bancroft, Ralph Waldo 
Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Sum- 
ner, Motley, Lowell and many other names of 
graduates are familiar to us. 

There are several buildings for museums that 
deeply impress us. We find in them many won- 

101 







Gate of the Harvard Grounds 



THE OLDEST COLLEGE IN AMERICA 

derful collections of plants, minerals and stuffed 
animals. The Germanic Museum is mostly the 
gift of the Emperor of Germany. In this buikL 
ing are reproductions of German gold and silver 
plate which was given by prominent German 
people. 

We cross the street and enter Memorial Hall. 
This vast building was erected as a memorial to 
the Harvard men who fell in the Civil War. 
In this building there is a dining-hall in which 
one thousand students can have their meals at 
the same time. Here also is Sander's Theater 
where for many years the graduating exercises 
have been held. 

What interests us most of all, however, are 
the marble tablets in the vestibule. On these 
tablets are the names of the brave Harvard boys 
who gave their lives for their country in the 
Civil War. One of the noblest poems in our 
language is the Commemoration Ode by James 
Russell Lowell. If you will read it you will un- 
derstand why Harvard is proud of Memorial 
HalL 

Like many other colleges, North and South, 
103 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Harvard is very patriotic. There is a Soldiers' 
Monument on the Common, where also stand 
statues of prominent men. Near by was the 
Washington Elm, under the shade of which 
George Washington became commander of the 
Continental Army, July 3, 1775. 

Radcliffe College is not far from the Elm. 
Here about five hundred young women take a 
college course like their brothers' in Harvard. 
The name Radcliffe was given to honor Ann 
Eadcliffe (Lady Moulson), who in 1640 gave a 
scholarship to Harvard when it was a struggling 
little college. She was the first woman to make 
such a gift. 

To-day there are about six thousand stu- 
dents enrolled at Harvard. Six hundred pro- 
fessors teach them. It is not very much like 
what might have been seen there when Har- 
vard was founded. Then there was a Fresh- 
man class of one. That was away back in 1636. 
The people of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts decided that, although there were not 
many inhabitants in the colonies at that time, 
there must be good schools and colleges. 

104 



THE OLDEST COLLEGE IN AMERICA 

Eeverend John Harvard, who was himself a 
graduate of Cambridge University, England, 
left a legacy of about four thousand dollars 
for the little college. That sum of money 
seemed very large at that time. In honor 
of the donor, his name was given the new col- 
lege. 

The Harvard boys do not spend all of their 
time poring over their books. They have two 
great athletic fields. In one of them is a stadium 
in which forty thousand people can be seated at 
the same time. Here a crowd that completely 
fills the place assembles in the autumn to see 
the football team play against its rivals. It is 
a stirring scene at such a time. The singing of 
the college boys, the cheering of the students, 
the hundreds of waving crimson banners, the 
eager faces in the crowd, are almost as inspiring 
as the game itself. 

There are also baseball diamonds, scores of 
tennis courts, ovals for the track teams, golf 
links, basketball courts; and various other 
sports are popular. The great gymnasium pro- 
vides room for twenty-five hundred students 

105 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

who may wish to take their exercise indoors at 
the same time. 

Out on the Charles Eiver near by, you can see 
the Harvard boat crews practicing for their 
races. There are two spacious boathouses, 
which accommodate eight hundred students. 
The long, narrow, light little boats, in which 
eight students form a crew, are called shells. 

Cambridge is a beautiful city and many well- 
known men have lived there. It was the home 
of Longfellow, whose house, Craigie House, was 
used by Washington as his headquarters when 
he was there as commander of the Colonial 
Army, many years ago. 

It is a great thing for any country to have 
such a college as Harvard. Its graduates have 
gone out into all the world. Many schools and 
colleges in the newer parts of our country have 
been established by men who first gained their 
interest in education at the oldest and greatest 
college in America. 



CHAPTER XI 

WEST POINT AND ANNAPOLIS 

SURELY every American ought to know the 
places where our young men are trained 
for service in the Army or Navy. 

The Military Academy is located at West 
Point, New York ; and the Naval Academy is at 
Annapolis, Maryland. 

On the west bank of the Hudson River, about 
forty-five miles north of New York, is West 
Point. The Hudson becomes narrow there, as 
it makes its way past the rugged and bold 
peaks of the Highlands. Yonder is Anthony's 
Nose, a high point named for Irving 's ''Dutch 
trumpeter," who is said to have had a "reful- 
gent" nose. Not far away is Sugar-Loaf Moun- 
tain. Near the base of this mountain stood the 
house which Benedict Arnold occupied when he 
was informed of the capture of Major Andre. 

107 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Storm King, Crow 's Nest and otlier interesting 
points are all near by. 

A wonderful view of the shining Hudson and 
of the high hills along its shores is to be had 
here. 

In the War of the Eevolution, West Point was 
a fortified place and sometimes was called the 
Gibraltar of the Hudson. No battles were 
fought there, but the fact that it was so stroiig 
and that a garrison might be able to prevent an 
army from moving past it, either up or down 
the river, was the reason for its being forti- 
fied. 

It was here that Benedict Arnold showed that 
he was a traitor. He had been one of the brav- 
est generals in the Continental Army. Because 
of jealousy, Arnold never received the reward 
which justly he should have had. But he 
showed how weak he was, when, after he had 
been appointed commander at West Point, he 
agreed to betray the post to the British in re- 
turn for a large sum of money and a commis- 
sion as Brigadier-General in the British Army. 
He had been angered because he had been 

108 



WEST POINT AND ANNAPOLIS 

charged with misusing public money. He took 
this road to revenge. 

Major Andre, a popular young aide of Gen- 
eral Clinton, was the British agent in making 
the bargain. 

After Andre had had an interview with Ar- 
nold at West Point, on his way back to New 
York he was captured by three men near Tarry- 
town. He was permitted by an American offi- 
cer to send a warning to Arnold. The traitor 
quickly escaped to the British lines, and, though 
his plot failed, he received his reward. 

Washington, because it was necessary to 
warn other British officers not to try to induce 
certain American officers to be false to their 
country, hanged Andre as a spy, since he had 
been caught in disguise within the American 
lines. 

The Americans lamented the fate of Andre 
and made strong efforts to capture Arnold so 
that they might hang him also. They failed, 
however, in their attempt to retaliate. 

When peace was declared, Arnold went to 
England to live. The Englishmen, however, as 

109 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

well as the Americans, showed only contemx)t 
for such a false-hearted man. 

Washington selected West Point as the best 
place for a Military Academy, but the school 
was not located there until 1802. The grounds 
consist of about twenty-three hundred acres, all 
of which are owned by the United States. The 
early work of laying out the place was done 
under the direction of Kosciuszko. He was a 
Polish nobleman who crossed the sea to help the 
struggling little nation. A spot at West Poitit 
which he very much loved is now called Kos- 
ciuszko 's Garden. 

Boys who enter West Point must be between 
the ages of seventeen and twenty-two. By an 
act of Congress the corps of cadets consist of one 
appointed by each Senator, one from each Con- 
gressional District, one from each territory, two 
from the District of Columbia, one from Porto 
Rico, Alaska and Hawaii, and two from each 
State at large, all to be nominated by Repre- 
sentatives in Congress or Senators, and ap- 
pointed by the Secretary of War. There are 
in addition, forty appointments at large, all of 

110 



WEST POINT AND ANNAPOLIS 

wliicli are made by the President of the United 
States, Four young Filipinos at the same time 
may be enrolled in the Military Academy, one 
in each class. At times a few students from for- 
eign countries are also received. The total at- 
tendance is about six hundred. 

These boys must be sound in body and 
free from any infirmity or weakness which 
might make them unfit for service in the 
army. 

Before they can enter, they must pass a thor- 
ough examination in English grammar, English 
composition, English literature, algebra through 
quadratic equations, plane geometry, descrip- 
tive geography, the elements of physical geog- 
raphy, especially the geography of their own 
country. United States history and the outlines 
of general history. When a boy is appointed 
a cadet he receives $709.50 annually for his sup- 
port. 

The teachers are officers in the army of the 
United States. The course of study is very se- 
vere. It covers four years. When a boy grad- 
uates at West Point he may receive a commis- 

111 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

sion as a second lieutenant in the army of the 
United States. 

When you visit the post you must walk from 
the station to the high level ground, one hun- 
dred and sixty feet above the river. If your 
visit is in July or August, you will find that the 
cadets are in camp. In April, May, September, 
and October the most interesting drills are 
held. 

Throughout the year there are dress parades. 
The parade ground, where all the military ex- 
ercises are held, covers forty acres. No matter 
what soldiers you may have seen marching, you 
never have seen any that do so better than the 
West Point Cadets. They march almost as if 
they w^ere one huge body. One reason for the 
success of the cadets is that they must all learn 
to obey before they can ever learn to command. 

On the grounds are many massive buildings 
which the United States has erected. Numer- 
ous imposing statues and monuments of famous 
American soldiers are scattered about the prem- 
ises. The tall battle monument near the flag- 
staff is seventy-eight feet high. 

112 



WEST POINT AND ANNAPOLIS 



The Gymnasium, the Cadet Barracks, the 
Store Building are all interesting. We are 
most interested, however, when we enter the 
Eiding Hall and from the galleries watch the 
seniors in their drill on horseback. How skill- 
ful they are and how 
quick and intelligent are 
the horses. 

The row of houses, in 
which the officers have 
their homes, is also most 
attractive. 

More inspiring, how- 
ever, than the beauty of 
the hills and the winding 
Hudson, more interesting 
than the great buildings which our country has 
put up for the training of our boys for its serv- 
ice, are the bright, intelligent young faces of 
the cadets, who are here learning how to defend 
their native land. 

Brave and patriotic, we hope they will all be. 
Did you ever think what other ways there are of 
showing patriotism, or love for one 's country, in 

113 







Cadet's Monument 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

addition to that of being a soldier! What are 
some of these forms of patriotism! 

When you go to Annapolis, Maryland, to visit 
the Naval Academy, you find yourself at the 
place where the little Severn River empties into 
Chesapeake Bay. 

Annapolis is a quaint and quiet little city of 
about ten thousand people. As long ago as 
1708, Queen Anne of England gave it a city char- 
ter. The name means the City of Anne. That 
was not the first name of the town, however, 
when it was founded in 1649. It was then called 
Providence, and afterward Anne Arundel Town. 

In addition to the Naval Academy there are 
other interesting places in the little city. It is 
the capital of Maryland. Here, of course, is 
the State House and here is the new State Li- 
brary, both interesting buildings. A famous 
tree near by, called the Tree of Liberty, is said 
to be seven hundred years old. 

If you go into the State House and turn to 
your right as soon as you enter, you will find 
the very place where Washington, in 1783, gave 
up his commission as Commander of the Con- 

114 



WEST POINT AND ANNAPOLIS 

tinental Armies. Here, too, tlie first Constitu- 
tional Convention of the newly formed nation 
assembled in 1786. 

Still more interesting than any af these places, 
however, is the great Naval Academy. Years 
ago most of the officers in our Navy received 
their training on board the merchant ships. 
Different ways of training boys to become mid- 
shipmen were tried, but it was not until after 
the war with Spain, in 1898, that the Naval 
Academy at Annapolis received the just and full 
attention from our country which it deserved. 
Before that time most of the buildings were old 
and poorly equipped. 

The Academy now has many magnificent 
buildings and is said by those who know, to be 
the finest and best equipped naval college in the 
world. 

In 1902 the number of cadets was increased 
so that now there are nearly nine hundred young 
men enrolled as students at Annapolis. 

Two students are allowed for each Senator, 
Representative and Delegate in Congress, two 
for the District of Columbia, ten every year 
9 115 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

from the United States at large and fifteen 
every year are appointed from the enlisted men 
in the Navy who have been at least one year in 
the service. The President annually appoints 
the two students from the District of Columbia 
and the ten each year from the United States at 
large. The fifteen appointed annually from the 
Navy must pass a competitive examination be- 
fore they are approved by the Secretary of the 
Navy. The Governor of Porto Rico may rec- 
ommend a student, who must be a native of that 
Island and be appointed by the President. 

As soon as possible after June 1, of each year, 
the Secretary of the Navy notifies in writing 
each Senator, Eepresentative and Delegate in 
Congress of any vacancy that will exist because 
of the graduation of students, and for which he 
is entitled to nominate a candidate and one or 
more alternates. 

Boys who are prepared to enter the Naval 
Academy must be at least five feet two inches 
in height and weigh not less than one hundred 
pounds, when they are between the ages of six- 
teen and eighteen. If they are between the ages 

116 



WEST POINT AND ANNAPOLIS 

of eigliteen and twenty tliey must be not less 
than five feet four inches tall, and five pounds 
must be added to the minimum weight of one 
hundred pounds for each additional year above 
the age of sixteen. At the time of their exami- 
nation for admission they must be between the 
ages of sixteen and twenty. 

The pay of a midshipman is $600 per year, 
and this begins as soon as he is admitted as a 
student in the Academy. 

The course of study, like that at West Point, 
is very difficult, and covers four years. After 
this course has been completed the midshipmen, 
as the students are called, or "middies," as they 
are more commonly known, spend two years at 
sea. Then they must pass a very rigid examina- 
tion before they are appointed ensigns. Nearly 
one-lialf of every class fails to qualify. 

As both the Military and the Naval Academy 
belong to the United States, naturally there is 
a keen rivalry between the cadets of the two 
institutions. Every year their baseball nines 
have stirring contests. 

The annual football game between the rival 
117 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

academies, also, is a marked event. The many 
bands present and playing the national airs, the 
gay dresses of the ladies in the vast assembly 
that come to watch the game, the presence of 
many officers of the Army and Navy in their 
striking uniforms, the marching of the cadets 
and the cheering by the .spectators all combine 
to make the scene stirring and impressive. The 
zeal and determination with which each team 
does its utmost to win, however, is the most 
stirring of all. 

No student becomes an officer in the Army or 
Navy of the United States without first having 
learned to work hard. Do you know of any- 
thing worth having for which some one does not 
have to do hard work? 



CHAPTER XII 

YELLOWSTONE PARK 

WHEN one enters the beautiful gateway, 
above its arch he reads: ''For the 
Benefit and Enjoyment of the People." March 
1, 1872, Congress made this wonderful place a 
national park. The Park is sixty-two miles 
long and fifty-four miles wide. Most of it is 
in Wyoming, although small parts of it are in 
Montana and Idaho. 

Yellowstone Park is shaped like an immense 
bowl or great hollow, with towering mountains 
for its sides. In the central part there is a 
broad plateau. Even this is eight thousand feet 
above the level of the sea. On every side of 
this jDlateau there are ranges of mountains and 
peaks, some of which are four thousand feet 
higher than the plateau. Geysers, boiling 
springs, cataracts, cliffs, petrified trees, hills of 

119 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

sulphur and deep canons abound. In the forests 
many wild animals are found. Imposing water- 
falls, shining lakes and wonderful flowers are 
to be seen at various places in the reservation. 

At Livingston, Montana, we left the main line 
of the Northern Pacific Eailroad. On a train 
which slowly made its way among the moun- 
tains and canons we rode to Gardiner, one of 
the two entrances to Yellowstone Park. There 
is another entrance from the West, at Monida 
(the name is composed of the first syllable of 
Montana and two syllables of Idaho). 

When we arrive at Gardiner we almost ig- 
nore the beautiful little rustic station there be- 
cause we are so deeply impressed by the mar- 
velous sights which already greet us. 

After a ride of five miles in a coach, we come 
to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, where the 
coaching through the Park begins. Although 
our ascent has only begun, we are already much 
higher than the top of Mount Washington, the 
highest mountain in New England. 

As the coaching trip does not begin until the 
following day, we have time to walk about the 

120 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

strange region. Not far before us are some 
formations or terraces that cover nearly two 
hundred acres. They are strangely colored and 
have been formed by the deposits of the hot 
springs, for which the stopping place has been 
named. 

We climb the terraces to their tops until we 
are almost three hundred feet higher than the 
hotel. From this place we see plainly the layers 
of white, cream, salmon, red, brown, yellow, and 
green in the formations. We notice, too, how 
very blue the water in the hot springs is. This 
water is so hot that if one should fall into it he 
would be quickly scalded. 

We find the terraces are named. One is called 
the Pulpit, another Minerva, still another Jupi- 
ter. We notice Angel Terrace; and still an- 
other is the Devil's Kitchen. 

Not far away there are beautiful waterfalls, 
one of which is one hundred and fifty feet high, 
in a canon five hundred feet deep. 

The next morning we start on our coaching 
trip, which will last five and one-half days be- 
fore we come back to Mammoth Hot Springs. 

121 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

When we take our seats, we find there are many 
more stages leaving at the same time, some 
drawn by six liorses, others by four. Some vis- 
itors, however, prefer to go on horseback. We 
are told that every coach is to keep its assigned 
place in the line every day throughout the en- 
tire trip, unless the people are late. As the 
ride sometimes is very dusty, we decide that 
we will try to be on time when the line is 
formed. 

Soon after we start, our attention is called 
to some strange rocks that are called the Koo- 
doos because they look almost like twisted or 
deformed people. We climb slowly up the 
canon and at the Golden Gate, a narrow defile 
among the giant hills, our driver stops so that 
we may look behind us at the mountains and 
canons, the waterfalls and geysers, which we 
can still see. 

When we go on again, our driver calls our at- 
tention to a mountain of glass before us. The 
Indians of this region used to make their arrow- 
heads of this glass. When the wonderful road 
over which we are riding was built, great blocks 

122 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

of this obsidian, as the glass is called, were 
first heated by fires and then cold water was 
thrown upon them, which broke them into many 
pieces small enough to be used in making the 
road. 

On our right we see Beaver Lake, where, years 
ago, the beavers built a dam, six hundred feet 
long. The beavers now have gone to other parts 
of the Park. No one is permitted to shoot or 
harm the wild animals in the Park. The buffa- 
loes, elk, deer and antelopes, even the bears and 
the bighorn sheep are all protected by soldiers. 
We have already met several bands of mounted 
soldiers who are here to see that the rules, 
which the United States has established for the 
visitors, are obeyed. 

We notice Roaring Mountain and the little 
Twin Lakes and the Devil's Frying Pan, as one 
geyser is called. We are impressed most of all 
by the sight of the great mountains in the dis- 
tance and by the continually changing scenes 
about us. 

After we have ridden twenty miles we stop at 
Norris Basin. There is a rush for the dining- 

123 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

room, for if we do not secure seats promptly, 
we shall have to wait a long time before we can 
be served. 

We have some time after luncheon before we 
are to resume our journey, so we follow the 
guide, who leads us across a wide tract of bare 
and barren ground which is crusted and through 
which in many places we see vapor rising. We 
must be careful to keep on the narrow paths 
here, because in places the crust will not hold 
us. 

Our guide takes us also to some of these great 
boiling springs, the names of which almost de- 
scribe what they are. There is the Black 
Growler, the Emerald Pool, the Bath Tub, the 
Minute Man, and others. It is a most desolate 
spot. There are no trees near it and even grass 
will not grow in the barren soil. 

We soon return and again take our places in 
our coach. We pass many other boiling springs 
and then enter a canon in which some of the 
most interesting hot springs in the Park are 
found. 

We are impressed by the swift waters of the 
124 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

river, along the shores of which we are now rid- 
ing, and by the sight of the lofty mountains that 
are all around the valley. We stop for the night 
at the Fountain Hotel, where all of us enjoy 
the hot baths. We have been told that near this 
hotel, after supper, we may, perhaps, see the 
bears come out of the forest to eat the food left 
from the tables. 

''I saw nine bears here last night," said one 
man. 

We wait, but no bears come. *'I think his 
nine bears were nein," laughed one of the boys 
in our party. 

The next morning we resume our coaching 
after we have visited some wonderful geysers 
not far from the hotel. Among these the most 
interesting is the Fountain, wiiich every two or 
three hours throws a stream of water fifty feet 
high. This geyser is not nearly as high as some 
we shall see later, but it is a very beautiful sight. 
We visit also the Mammoth Paint Pots, a gey- 
ser whose muddy waters are colored pink, yel- 
low, red, etc. This crater impresses us because 
it is forty feet in diameter. 

125 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

We ride past the Great Fountain Geyser, 
which, at certain times, throws a stream of hot 
water one hundred and fifty feet high, but it is 
not in action at this time. 

We soon come to a rolling country and our 
driver insists upon our stopping at a strange- 
looking spot called Hell's Half Acre. Here we 
see many beautiful geysers and springs, and a 
wonderful pool one hundred feet in diameter, 
called the Turquoise Spring. Its clear waters 
are as blue as the stone of that name. 

We find that some of the geysers have been 
named from their resemblance to flowers or 
other objects. Among these we notice particu- 
larly the Morning-glory, the Fan, the Three Sis- 
ters, the Sawmill and others. There are so 
many that we do not stop to examine them all 
now. 

The most interesting geyser of all we find 
when we stop at Old Faithful Inn, which is in 
the Upper Geyser Basin. Here there are forty 
great geysers, the largest of all in the Park, and 
also many beautiful hot springs. 

The hotel is built of logs and finished in woods 
126 




Old Faithful. Yellowstone Park 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

of different kinds. There is no plaster to be 
seen. It is most attractive. 

After luncheon, we go out to see Old Faith- 
ful, perhaps the best known of all the geysers in 
Yellowstone Park. It plays about once an hour, 
so regularly that it has been given the name it 
bears. 

Soon after we arrive we see that the water in 
the crater is beginning to boil and then is mov- 
ing as if it were being pushed up by some un- 
seen power below it. Suddenly the vast mass 
of water is forced up into the air and continues 
to rise steadily until the stream is one hundred 
and fifty feet high. For four and one-half min- 
utes the stream continues, then begins to drop 
slowly back into the crater, to be quiet an hour 
before there is another eruption. 

The Beehive throws a mass of water two hun- 
dred feet into the air. Near the Beehive is the 
Giantess and not far away is the Giant, the last 
being the greatest of all geysers. This, how- 
ever, does not spout very often, but when it 
does, it plays its great column of water two 
hundred and fifty feet into the air for an hour 

127 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

and a half ! No geysers in the world are as large 
as these. 

The next morning we find that we are still 
steadily climbing. Not far from Shoshone Lake, 
six and one-half miles long and nearly a mile 
and one-half above the level of the sea, we come 
to the famous Continental Divide, or watershed 
of the Rocky Mountains. Here, we are eight 
thousand, two hundred and fifty feet high ! We 
do not notice the change in the air until we try 
to walk or run, then we find it hard to breathe. 

Two little streams on this Great Divide start 
within a few feet of each other. One of them 
flows down one side of the mountain, while the 
other goes down the opposite side. The water 
of one brook finally reaches the Pacific Ocean 
and the other at last flows into the Atlantic. 
Can you tell what rivers they go through! 

It is hard to believe that the Teton Moun- 
tains, which are thirteen thousand, six hundred 
and ninety feet high, are sixty miles away. The 
air is so clear that it seems to us that we might 
walk to them in an hour or two. 

We soon come to Yellowstone Lake and stop 
128 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

for luncheon at the Thumb, or West Bay. We 
decide that instead of going on in our coach to 
the Lake Hotel, we will ride on the little steamer 
that crosses this lake. 

Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest bodies 
of water in the world at such an altitude (7,721 
feet). The one little steamer on it had to be 
brought in pieces or sections by mules, all the 
way from Gardiner, and then the parts were put 
together on the lake. 

Here are more hot springs, but we have seen 
so many already that we do not visit them. In- 
stead we rent some fishing-tackle and go down 
to the shore of the lake, where we are permitted 
to catch trout to our heart's content. 

On the shore directly behind us are springs 
so hot that we can catch a trout in the lake, and 
then, without taking the fish from the hook, 
throw the line behind us into one of the hot 
springs, where the fish will instantly be cooked. 

Directly after luncheon we go on board the 
little steamboat, which soon is headed toward 
the hotel that is at the end of the lake, about 
eighteen miles distant. All around the shores 

129 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

are great mountains. We count thirteen, every 
one more than ten thousand feet high. 

The next morning we stop at the Mud Cal- 
dron, or Mud Volcano — one of the weirdest and 
most awful sights in the Park. It has a round 
crater about forty feet deep. At the bottom 
the mud boils like water in a teakettle. There 
is a loud roaring and groaning which cannot be 
described. It is said that when this volcano 
first l)roke forth, a few years ago, it threw mud 
to a distance of a half-mile ! 

We should like to stop at Hayden Valley, Sul- 
phur Mountain, Crater Hill and the Upper Falls 
of the Yellowstone River, but we have not time. 
We cross Cascade Creek on a bridge that is two 
hundred and fifty feet long, and then go to the 
Grand Canon Hotel, the extreme point of our 
coaching trip. 

We are at once interested in a fawn, which 
some women are feeding on the piazza of the 
hotel. The pretty little creature looks at us 
with eyes that seem almost human and it licks 
our hand when we pet it. 

'^ Probably its mother was killed by a bear," 
130 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

explained one of the women present. "One 
of the men found it in the forest this morn- 
ing. ' ' 

Soon afterward we ride along the road which 
is not far from the border of the Canon of the 
Yellowstone. We obtain frequent glimpses of it, 
but are not able to see what is really before us 
until we stop, and then walk out on Lookout 
Point. 

Some of our party are almost overcome when 
they look dow^n. Far below us the Yellowstone 
River looks like a little ribbon. The Yellow- 
stone Falls are covered with spray as the water 
leaps over a height that is three hundred and 
sixty feet above the bottom of the chasm. It 
is nearly a mile across the canon to the opposite 
side. 

Directly beneath us, on the peaks of what 
seem to be needle-shaped mountains, we see 
nests of eagles. Some of the great birds now 
are circling about the place. We watch one that 
rises slowly, coming nearer and nearer to the 
place where we are standing. Suddenly the 
eagle ''lets go" of itself and falls five hundred 
10 131 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

feet, almost as if it was a stone. Then its great 
wings are spread once more and in graceful cir- 
cles it sweeps toward its nest. 

Perhaps the most marvelous sight of all is the 
coloring of the sides of the canon. Some of the 
clitfs are red, others are yellow, orange or pur- 
ple. Just now the river far below looks like 
a thread of delicate green, while the border of 
the caiion is fringed with the darker green of 
the pine trees. Some one has said that the 
canon looks as if a " rainbow had fallen from the 
sky and lay scattered on the rocks. ' ' 

After supper, for the first time, we see bears 
feeding. The refuse from the tables has been 
taken to the open space beyond the barns and 
left near the border of the forests. 

Very soon we see a bear coming slowly from 
amongst the trees. He frequently stops and 
looks all about him, but does not seem to be 
afraid. As soon as he begins to eat, others come 
to join him. Pretty soon we notice one big bear 
followed by two cubs. What cunning little ani- 
mals they are! They look almost like balls of 
fur. While their mother is eating her supper, 

132 



YELLOWSTONE PARK 

the cubs roll on the ground or climb the trees, 
or cuff each other as boys do at play. 

The following morning we begin our return. 
Much of our ride back to Mammoth Hot Springs 
is like a review lesson for us. Again we see 
the towering mountains that surround Yellow- 
stone Park as a frame surrounds a picture. The 
road once more leads through forests of spruce 
and pine. The crags and cliffs now have an 
added interest. The bears, buffaloes, elk and 
antelopes at various places stop to watch us and 
are not afraid. We now know where and w^hen 
to look for the spouting geysers, the many-col- 
ored terraces, the tinted pools and hot springs, 
and the waterfalls and caiions. The wild music 
of Y^ellowstone Falls we shall never forget. 
The sublimity of Yellowstone Caiion is now a 
lasting memory. 

When at last our journey is completed we un- 
derstand why the United States has set apart 
this wonderful park — "for the benefit and en- 
joyment of the people." 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

IT is still early in the morning when our train 
from San Francisco, or Oakland, California, 
stops at El Portal. From this little place, every 
morning at seven o'clock, stages leave for the 
Yosemite Valley, fifteen miles away. We eat 
our breakfast at the hotel near by and hasten 
to the coach. Four horses are hitched to our 
coach and there are seats inside it for twelve 
people. It is May and the dust is not heavy, so 
we select seats close up behind the horses. 

Our ride is through the Valley of the Merced 
River. The clear, sparkling waters of this 
river come tumbling and plunging in its swift 
current. We are steadily climbing all the way 
and our horses walk almost all the time. 

When we pass under Arch Rock our driver 
tells us that a boy, who not long before our 

134 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

visit cut liis initials in the stone above this en- 
trance, compelled the guards to blast the rock 
to get rid of them. It is against all orders to 
cut any rocks or trees, or pick flowers in the 
Valley. 

Among the many cascades on the sides of the 
Sierra Nevada Mountains, which are on each 
side of the road we are following, is one which 
our driver informs us is called the Widow's 
Tears. When we ask him the reason for this 
strange name, he humorously replies, ''Some 
folks say it is because they dry up in six weeks. 
Other people say it is because they never dry 
up." 

About one o 'clock we come to the entrance to 
Yosemite Valley, where we obtain our first view 
of the spot which many travelers declare is the 
most wonderful in all the world. 

The Valley itself is about eight miles long and 
from one-half to two miles wide. Almost sur- 
rounding it are walls of rock that are from three 
thousand to five thousand feet high. Through 
the center of the Valley flows the madly rushing 
Merced. 

135 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Probably the white men first saw this won- 
derful sight in 1851, w^hen a small band of sol- 
diers found it by chance while they were pur- 
suing some Indians. 

Congress, in 1864, gave the Valley, including 
the country for two miles around it, to Cali- 
fornia for a state park. In 1905, California 
gave this land back to Congress and it is now a 
part of the Yosemite National Park. 

When we look ahead we see that the floor of 
the Valley is very level. Many brightly colored 
flowers are growing in the grass. There are 
also beautiful trees and shrubs on every side. 

The name of the Valley is an Indian word 
which means Full Grown Grizzly Bear. 

At our left we look up at a giant cliff which 
is so straight and sheer that it almost seems to 
us that if a man should step off the summit he 
would fall directly into the Valley below. This 
huge rock is El Capitan. It rises more than 
three thousand feet straight from the ground. 
The ground below is itself more than that num- 
ber of feet above the level of the sea. 

There are many towering peaks which seem 
136 




Coaching in the Yosemite 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

almost to hang over our heads. Among these 
are the Three Brothers. Far beyond us we see 
the Half, or South, Dome, a giant mountain 
which looks as if some one had cut it with a huge 
knife and had left only one-half standing. 

Our driver tells us that a man named Ander- 
son, in 1875, climbed this rocky summit, using 
a rope tied to pegs which he drove into the 
crevasses of the rocks. It was called Ander- 
son's Ladder, but it is no longer in existence. 
Few people now attempt to climb this moun- 
tain. 

Nearer are the Cathedral Rocks, on which we 
see the Bridal Veil Falls. Many think these 
falls are the most beautiful in the Valley. They 
are straight in their drop of six hundred and 
thirty feet and are about seventy feet wide. 
The name was given, because, when the wind 
blows, the falling waters flutter like a long, soft, 
white veil. If we are here soon after four 
o'clock in the afternoon, we shall see the beau- 
tiful rainbow which is then formed on the Falls. 

As the snow on the mountains melts away, the 
amount of water in these Falls becomes less. 

137 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Fortunately we are here in May, just the right 
time to see everything in the Park at its 
best. 

In the center of the Valley we stop at the 
quaint little hotel, The Sentinel. Soon after 
we have had our dinner and while it is yet light, 
we walk to the Yosemite Falls, about a half-mile 
distant. These falls are formed by the waters 
of the Y^osemite Creek, which in three great 
leaps drop to the Valley below. The total 
height of the falls is twenty-five hundred feet. 
This is the highest waterfall in the world for 
such a volume of water. 

We find, when we approach the base, that we 
are soon as wet from the spray as if we had 
been in a driving rainstorm. 

The great roar of the falling water can be 
heard far away. When we go back to the hotel 
we find that our view of the Falls is even better 
than when we were close to them. From every 
point of view, however, the sight is very im- 
pressive. 

It is still light and we are interested in ob- 
taining views of some of the mountain peaks. 

138 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

The North Dome and the Three Graces seem 
especially wonderful. 

The next morning, before sunrise, we go on 
horseback to Mirror Lake, three miles away. 
The mountains are so high that the sun does not 
shine upon this lake until eight o'clock, so that 
we do not have to rise as early for our ride as 
at first it might appear. 

In the waters of this lake. Mount Watkins 
and the North and South Domes are reflected 
so clearly that it is hard for us to believe that 
we are not looking at the mountains themselves. 
It is said the reflections are almost as striking 
in the moonlight. 

Later, we go to Vernal and Nevada Falls, a 
few miles distant. The latter has a descent of 
six hundred feet and the waters of the former 
fall straight down three hundred and fifty feet. 

On Glacier Point, where we go the following 
day, there is a flag-staff and an iron railing. 
We are now nearly a mile and a half up in the 
air. What a wonderful view of the Valley below 
us we have here ! The floor is almost directly 
beneath us. 

139 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Later, while we are sitting on the piazza of 
the Old Sentinel Hotel, some soldiers ride past. 
We are told that the Federal Government keeps 
two troops of cavalry here all the time to pro- 
tect the Park and to see that visitors do no 
harm to it. 

A little later a half-dozen or more Indians 
pass the hotel. They are almost all that are 
left of the redmen who once lived in the Yosem- 
ite Valley. They are now called Digger In- 
dians, although they belong to the Shoshone 
tribe. They are not very attractive looking. 
When we are told that they live on roots and 
acorns, in addition to the fish they catch, we are 
not surprised at their appearance. 

There are many more interesting sights and 
drives in or near the Valley, but we want now 
most of all to see the Mariposa Grove of Big 
Trees. Accordingly, early the following morn- 
ing we once more take our seats in a coach. 
Soon we are climbing a winding road which has 
many ' ' hairpin ' ' bends in it. 

At Inspiration Point we stop to obtain a last 
view of the wonderful Yosemite Valley below 

140 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

us. It seems to be shut in on every side by the 
mighty Sierras. The tumbling waters of the 
Merced, the roar of the distant falls, which is 
the only sound we hear in the midst of the tense 
silence, the clear sunlight, the majestic moun- 
tains, the white and lace-like cataracts, the trees 
and flowers — all make an impressive setting for 
the little Valley in its greenness and beauty. 
We shall never forget the sight. 

We are steadily climbing when we resume our 
journey and most of the time we are passing 
through great timber lands. One of our party 
requests the driver to stop while he jumps out 
of the coach and secures some of the cones of 
the great sugar-pine trees. Every cone is more 
than a foot long and is several inches in diame- 
ter. 

In the midst of the great trees we notice a 
little bush which has a red trunk. This is the 
Manzanita and is very abundant. We notice 
too the rare little snow-plant. It grows here 
near the banks of melting snow. It has a stalk 
which makes us think of asparagus, although it 
is larger and of a very briglit crimson. 

141 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

After a time our tired liorses come to tlie top 
of the mountain and very soon we shall begin 
the descent on the other side. Our road is nar- 
row and in places the coach is so near the edge 
that we can look almost directly down into the 
wide valley, seven thousand feet below us. Some 
of our party are timid. Our driver smiles as he 
says, '* Don't be afraid. If we should go over 
the edge you would not feel any hurt. You 
would starve to death before you came to the 
bottom." It is almost dusk when we arrive at 
the hotel where we are to spend the night. 

Early the following morning, in a smaller 
coach than the one in which we came, we de- 
part for the place where the big trees are to 
be seen. This grove is known as the Mariposa 
Grove. Mariposa means butterfly, and the 
place is so named because of the hundreds of 
little purple butterflies flitting about on all sides. 

When we come to the end of our journey we 
find there are two groves — the Lower and the 
Upper. The largest of the big trees in the 
Lower Grove is called the Grizzly Giant. It is 
ninety-four feet around, and thirty-one feet 

142 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

through its trunk. Its main branch is more 
than one hundred feet above the ground, and 
it is six and one-half feet in diameter. It re- 
quires forty-seven steps for us to walk around 
the base of the tree. 

The Grizzly Giant is two hundred and fifty 
feet high, which is much lower than some of 
the other trees. It is said that one million feet 
of lumber might be cut from this one tree. That 
is enough to cover the entire surface of the 
Flatiron Building in New York City. It is 
probably the oldest tree in all the world. Those 
who know tell us that it has been growing for 
eight thousand years. 

As we proceed, we drive, coach and all, on a 
road that leads straight through a big opening, 
cut in the trunk of a tree named California. 

We are still climbing as we go on to the 
Upper Grove, where there are three hundred 
and sixty more of these big trees. More than 
ten of these giants are each more than two hun- 
dred and fifty feet high. There are three par- 
ticular trees so large that it is more than ninety 
feet around each trunk. 

143 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Almost every one of the larger trees has a 
name. General Grant, General Sherman, Cali- 
fornia, New Jersey, New York, Missouri and the 
names of other famous States or well known 
men have been given to them. 

In the Grove large tables have been placed 
which stand upon the ground. We have 
brought our luncheon with us and enjoy the 
picnic. 

A forest ranger is on duty here all the time. 
He informs us that the greatest danger is from 
fire. We have already seen some trees that have 
been scarred by forest fires. 

What a sight on this high mountain it would 
be if all these trees were to be on fire at the 
same time! All hope that such a disaster will 
never come. That is the reason why every vis- 
itor is warned to be careful. 

We take home some wonderful pictures. The 
Grizzly Giant we shall never forget. The ma- 
jestic cliffs in the Yosemite Valley, the lofty 
mountains whose summits, part of the time, are 
above the clouds, the thunder of the falling- 
waters in the cataracts, the shining lakes, the 

144 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

views from Observation Point, the clear, rush- 
ing Merced River, are all impressive. These 
are, however, only a few of the wonderful sights 
that greet one when he visits the national park 
known as Yosemite Valley. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE GRAND CANON 

EVERY one who has told us about this won- 
derful place has increased our desire to 
see it. At last the time has come when we too 
are to see one of the most sublime sights in the 
world. 

We have been riding four days on the cars 
and are glad when our train stops at Williams, 
Arizona. 

This little town received its name from a fa- 
mous scout. To the pioneers, years ago, he was 
known as Bill Williams. We are told that if 
we will climb to the top of Bill Williams's Moun- 
tain not far away, we shall find his grave there. 
Some of our friends explain to us, however, that 
the famous scout really was not buried near 
this place. He was killed by the Indians. Al- 
though there is an easy bridle-path up the high 

146 



THE GRAND CANON 

mountain, we decide to rest until our train for 
the Grand Canon arrives. 

When we take our seats in the train we have 
almost forgotten how high we are until we are 
reminded that at Williams, where we changed 
cars, we were one mile and one-quarter above 
the level of the sea. 

Sixty-three and one-half miles away is the 
Grand Canon of the Colorado River. Our train 
passes through a part of Arizona which im- 
presses us, although most of the land we see is 
quite barren. 

From the windows of our car we look out 
upon stretches of sandy land and tracts where 
the sage bush is growing. Even the scattered 
trees seem to be mostly dwarfs. There is, how- 
ever, some pasture land. Cattle raised on these 
ranches are taken to Williams and there are 
shipped to Omaha, Kansas City and Chicago. 

When we arrive at the Grand Caiion Station 
we are glad when we are told that our hotel is 
not far away. 

As soon as we are ready we walk a short dis- 
tance from the hotel and stand on the brink of 
11 147 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

the Canon. Every one in our party is silent. 
We see strong men down whose cheeks tears 
are running. We understand what has caused 
them. The sight before us is the most awful 
upon which we have ever gazed. Far, far be- 
low us we see the bottom of the Canon. 

In places this great gulch is more than a mile 
deep. At the bottom is the Colorado Kiver. 
Although the river here in places is three hun- 
dred feet wide it is so far below us that it looks 
very much like a little ribbon. Even the river 
itself is nearly a half-mile above the level of the 
sea. 

The opposite side of the Canon is more than 
ten miles distant from the brink on which we 
are standing. This great Canon, from ten to 
thirteen miles wide and from three thousand to 
six thousand feet deep, extends for more than 
two hundred miles, following the course of the 
Colorado River. 

Away back in southeastern Utah two rivers 
have united to form the Colorado, which we see 
far, far below us. The Green River rises in 
the distant mountains of Wyoming. The Grand 

148 




The Grand Canon 



THE GRAND CANON 

Kiver begins among the Rocky Mountains of 
Colorado, and flows southwest to join its com- 
panion in forming the Colorado. 

The mighty river beneath us flows on through 
Arizona and then still passes on until it has 
gone beyond the borders of the United States 
into Mexico, where it empties into the Gulf of 
California. In one part of Arizona the earth 
and the air combine to form the wonderful col- 
orings of the sky and of the great stretches of 
sand that extend on every side as far as one 
can see. The region is called the Painted Des- 
ert. 

We still stand looking at the walls of the 
mighty chasm before us. Here we see how the 
world was formed. In layer upon layer, some- 
what like the layers in a piece of cake, we see 
the bright and varied colors of the crust of the 
earth. In places, there are terraces or niches 
that look almost as if they had been fashioned 
by the hand of man. There are great buttresses, 
too, that stand out boldly from the sides of the 
walls of the Caiion. 

We notice that the rim of the Caiion is not 
149 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

straight. It winds in and out, and here and 
there are great points or terraces, some of which 
extend part way and others all the way to the 
bottom. 

Later, we learn that not only the action of the 
river, bnt also the action of the dry climate have 
helped to make this the biggest chasm in all the 
world. The dry air has kept the rock from 
crumbling. 

As far as we can see the Grand Caiion extends 
before us. The sight is so new and so sublime 
that when we turn back to the hotel very few 
words are spoken by our party. 

At our hotel the following day we obtain 
guides and burros' to take us on our trip to the 
bottom of the Canon. The distance is only 
seven miles by Bright Angel Trail, but we shall 
be three hours going down and three and a half- 
hours coming back. 

What a ride we have on the backs of our sure- 
footed little donkeys ! Slowly and carefully the 
little beasts go down the steep trail. A few of 
our party are strapped to the backs of the faith- 
ful little burros. 

150 



THE GRAND CANON 

There are places where we can look over the 
edge and see straight down into the depths of 
the Canon, several thousand feet below us. We 
clutch tightly the necks of our donkeys. They 
do not seem to be alarmed at the awful sight 
which causes most of us to close our eyes. When 
we open our eyes again, after we have passed 
the most dangerous places, we notice how white 
the faces of our companions are. 

Steadily we make our way down the trail and 
are not sorry when the time for rest has come. 
We are told that there is not much danger in 
the trip we have made. Perhaps we have our 
own thoughts as to that. At all events, several 
of our party are not looking forward with pleas- 
ure to the climb back to the hotel. 

The sight from the bottom of the Canon in 
some ways is even more impressive than it is 
from the top. The colors of the walls are 
changing now. These colors vary with the sun- 
light and are different in the morning from what 
they are at sunset. On cloudy days, too, al- 
though they are still beautiful, they are not so 
brilliant as at other times. 

151 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

We slowly and safely climb back to the i^la- 
teau on which our hotel is located. This time we 
do not close our eyes when the trail winds 
around the cliffs and comes close to the border. 
It is an experience which we never shall forget. 

There are other trails which we may take and 
many points to which we may walk or drive 
where new and marvelous views of the Grand 
Caiion may be had. 

Although we remain several days we do not 
tire of the sublime sight. The Grand Caiion is 
quite as impressive by night as it is when the 
sun shines upon it. 



CHAPTER XV 

PIKE'S PEAK 

THIS is one of the most famous mountains 
in America, although it is not the highest.^ 
It is one of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. 

On its summit, which is 14,108 feet above the 
level of the sea, there is a tablet, on which is 
recorded the fact that Lieutenant Zebulon Pike 
discovered this mountain in 1806. 

Lieutenant Pike was a daring young officer 
in the United States army. When he was only 

1 Highest Mountains in the United States 

AND TeBKITOBIES 

Mount Whitney, California, 14,501 feet 

Mount Elbert, Colorado, 14,402 

Mount Rainier, Washington, 14,363 

Pike's Peak, Colorado 14,108 

Garnett Peak, Wyoming, 13,785 

King's Peak, Utah, 13,498 

North Truchas Peak, New Mexico, 13,306 

Wheeler Peak, Nevada, 13,058 

Mount McKinley, Alaska, 20,300 

Mauna Kea, Hawaii, 13,823 

153 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

a boy he enlisted and served in the company in 
which his father was an officer. He not only 
was a brave young soldier, but he was also a 
hard working student and was steadily pro- 
moted. 

When the United States purchased Louisiana, 
much of the new country was unexplored and 
unknown. Lieutenant Pike, with twenty hardy 
men, was sent from St. Louis to explore the 
sources of the Mississippi River and the sur- 
rounding regiou. The daring men took with 
them provisions sufficient for four months only, 
but they remained nine months in the wilds of 
what now is Minnesota. 

Two months after their return, the young lieu- 
tenant, with another party, was again sent as an 
explorer into the region of what now is Colo- 
rado. 

There the winter overtook them. The men 
suffered severely from cold and hunger. At 
last they were captured by the Spaniards, but 
after a brief time were released. It was on this 
expedition that Lieutenant Pike discovered the 
mountain which now bears his name. 

154 



PIKE'S PEAK 

It is a pity that he should have died when he 
was only twenty-nine years of age. He was 
then a brigadier general, and was in command 
of the land forces, when, in the War of 1812, an 
attack was made upon York (Toronto), Canada. 
Zebulon Pike lost his life while he was bravely 
leading his men into the fight. His name, how- 
ever, will not soon be forgotten. 

Most people who go to Pike's Peak to-day 
usually stop first at Colorado Springs, about 
six miles distant from the mountain. The little 
city is as attractive in its way as is the tower- 
ing mountain-peak. Its streets are laid out in 
squares and it has many beautiful homes. The 
air is so clear and dry that many who are not 
strong or in good health, come from other parts 
of our country to make their homes there. 

It does not rain in Colorado Springs from 
September until April. The city is sheltered 
by foothills on every side except the one on 
which it lies open to the great plains. In this 
way it receives an abundance of fresh, dry air, 
and yet the great hills keep out the cold winds. 

From Colorado Springs we drive to the foot 
155 



PLACES YOUNG AMEKICANS WANT TO KNOW 

of Pike's Peak, at Engleman's Canon. There 
we secure seats in the car that is to go up the 
side of the mountain. This strange little rail- 
road was built in 1891. It is run on what is 
called the cog-wheel system. No matter 
whether we are going up or coming down our 
speed does not change. 

This little road, which is called the Manitou 
and Pike's Peak Railway, is eight and three- 
quarter miles long. In its course of less than 
nine miles it goes up 7,500 feet. We are riding 
on a railway so steep that every mile we are 
carried eight hundred and forty-six feet higher 
into the air. 

About an hour and a half is required for the 
ride to the summit of Pike's Peak. This is the 
only railroad up the mountain side, but there 
are other ways by which people may go. Some 
walk up the bridle path, and others on horse- 
back follow the same road. The fare on the 
railroad is the same as that which one pays for 
going on horseback — five dollars. The long 
steep climb requires about six hours, whether we 
walk or ride. 

156 



PIKE'S PEAK 

When we arrive at the summit, although we 
are hungry, we almost forget the little hotel 
there, because we are at once impressed by the 
wonderful view that spreads out before us. 
There are thousands of miles of plains and 
mountains within our sight. Our guide points 
out the Spanish Peaks, Long's Peak, Gray's 
Peak and other great mountains in the distance. 
Far away we can see Denver and Pueblo. Al- 
most directly beneath us are Colorado Springs 
and Manitou. 

"I should like to see all this in winter," says 
one of our party. 

''It is not safe to come except in summer," an- 
swers another. 

"Why not?" 

"The cars do not begin to run before June. 
There is so much snow and ice on the side of 
the mountain in the winter that sometimes it is 
twenty-five feet deep. There are places, too, 
where they do not try to shovel it at all; they 
just blast it with dynamite." 

On another side, far below us, is Ute Pass, 
the old Santa Fe Trail, through which passed 

157 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

the 'forty-niners, as the men were called, who 
came here on their way to California, after gold 
had been discovered in that State. This old 
trail is now the roadbed of a railroad. 

If we had time to spare we should enjoy lis- 
tening to the stories that are told about the 
great Indian Chief Ouray, who fought for his 
people in this part of our country as Brandt 
and King Philip did in the East. And he was 
also a good friend of the white settlers. 

Not far away is the place where a deadly 
battle took place years ago between the Indians 
and the white men. Kit Carson, the famous 
guide, was the leader of the whites in this con- 
flict. 

If we wish we may stay all night in the little 
hotel on the summit of Pike's Peak. We de- 
cide to do this and are awake early the follow- 
ing morning. 

From Pike's Peak the sight of the rising sun 
is one we shall never forget. First there are 
little faint streaks of bright colors in the east- 
ern sky. Next there is a deeper glow and very 
soon in the golden light we see more distinctly 

158 



PIKE'S PEAK 

than we did the preceding afternoon the many 
little lakes and streams in the valleys, the peaks 
of the towering mountains that reflect the sun- 
light, the great yawning chasms, and the myriad 
waterfalls sparkling like rainbows. Here and 
there are villages and cities, some of them fifty 
miles or more distant. 

When we return we stop at Manitou and drink 
of the waters of the famous springs. Such 
names as Navajo, Manitou, Little Chief and Iron 
are given these springs. Many people are fond 
of these waters and say that they are like those 
at Ems in Germany. There are bath-houses 
here, too, so that those who wish may bathe in 
these healing waters. 

Before we leave we visit the Garden of the 
(rods. After a short ride from Manitou we 
come to the Gateway of the Garden of the Gods. 
This consists of two high, jagged masses of red 
rock, with a narrow passage between them on 
which is the roadway. These rocks are three 
hundred and thirty feet high. 

The colorings of these rocks frequently 
change. They are different in the morning 

159 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

from what tliey are in the evening, and on 
cloudy days are not nearly so bright as on the 
days when the sun shines. 

When we enter the Garden of the Gods, which 
covers about five hundred acres, we find scat- 
tered about in it great stones which have been 
worn by storms and winds into fantastic shapes. 
Some of them look like giant toadstools. Yon- 
der is a strange rock which is called the Old 
Scotchman, because, when we are far enough 
away, it resembles an old man. Here are rocks 
that look like seals, camels or other animals. 
Some tall pointed rocks are called the Cathe- 
dral Spires. And here is a huge, high rock that 
seems to be standing almost as if it were rest- 
ing on a pivot. It is called Balanced Rock. 

We are told that we must not leave this won- 
derful region without a visit to the Cave of the 
Winds. Of course this place is all under the 
ground. A guide goes with us, taking a light 
with him so that we may be able to find our way. 
We find there are three floors to this great cave 
and are not surprised when we are told that 
boys first found the weird place. 

160 




H 



PIKE'S PEAK 

The entrance is quite small, and frequently 
we go up and down stairways that have been 
built for the use of visitors. There are rooms 
so perfect in form that they seem almost to have 
been made by man. Electric lights can be 
turned on and the walls then shine as if there 
were diamonds in them. 

There are names for these long halls and 
rooms, but the place that interests us most is a 
narrow passage called Fat Man's Misery. Can 
you guess how it received its name? 



CHAPTER XVI 

"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" 

WHILE we are crossing the plains in 
southern Texas, from the windows of 
our car we see that much of the nearby country 
is irrigated. The water is obtained from very 
deep artesian wells. On the ranches thousands 
of cattle, horses and mules are raised. Most of 
them will finally be taken to San Antonio, 
whither we are going. 

On these vast ranches many sheep also are 
raised and sent to the same market. In recent 
years certain ranchmen have added goats to 
their other live-stock. To-day great flocks are 
to be seen. These goats have long wool which 
is cut and sent to the mills of the North. The 
flesh of the goat is very much like mutton and is 
sold in many markets. 

As we come nearer the city of San Antonio, 
162 



"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" 

we notice that the people in our car refer to the 
place as ''San Antone." Afterward we find 
that this is the common name in this part of 
the country for the thriving city. 

We hear also the expression "Little Mexico." 
Later, we learn that this is the name applied to a 
part of San Antonio in which many Mexicans 
live. Indeed, years ago the entire settlement 
and all the nearby country was under Spanish 
or Mexican control. 

The Spaniards built a fort here as far back 
as 1689, although the first real settlement was 
not made until 1714. Following their usual cus- 
tom, the Spaniards and Mexicans, after they 
had built a fort to protect them, next erected a 
church in which they might worship. 

San Antonio is an important railroad center. 
From it are shipped large quantities of cotton, 
wool and hides. 

Many visitors from tlie North come to spend 
their winters in the attractive city because the 
winters here are very mild. There are several 
immense hotels to provide for the wants of these 
travelers. 

13 163 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

A mile to the north of the city the United 
States has one of its largest military posts. Its 
name is Fort Sam Houston and it is located on 
a hill. From the tower in the center of the 
quadrangle of the post, one obtains a splendid 
view of the city and of the San Antonio Eiver, 
which winds in and out for thirteen miles within 
the limits of the city. San Antonio is not far 
from the Mexican border. 

Many strangers visit first of all the beautiful 
San Jose Mission. This is about four miles dis- 
tant from San Antonio. There are four of 
these old Spanish missions in or near the city. 
Every one is worthy of a visit. 

The ride to the Mission San Jose is over a 
good road for our automobile. In the stretches 
of level country through which we pass we see 
many clusters of the low mesquite trees. 

The walls of the Mission now are crumbling. 
Unless great care is taken there will soon be 
little left of the artistic structure. The arched 
stone roof, the window^s and the arches, even 
the capitals of the small chapels are very fine. 

What an interesting story this old church 
164 



"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" 

building might tell if its walls could only speak ! 
It was begun as long ago as 1720. For eleven 
years the Spaniards and the Indians toiled in its 
erection. The faithful and devoted Indians 
brought on their backs the stones, of which the 
walls are made, from Mexico, across the long 
desert. 

In many places in the southwestern part of 
our country the Spaniards, years ago, built other 
missions similar to the one we now see. Along 
the border, these crumbling buildings tell of the 
faith, the devotion and the labors of the earliest 
visitors to this part of the country. 

Naturally, a stranger in San Antonio does 
not fail to visit the Mission Del Alamo. The lo- 
cation of this famous old building is within the 
present limits of the city, and for good reasons 
has become a place of national interest. 

When this church, or mission, was built, there 
must have been many trees near it, for the word 
alamo is the name of a tree. Now, however, the 
trees have disappeared and San Antonio has 
grown around the Mission until the Alamo looks 
across a plaza and wide square and down long 

165 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

lines of crowded shops and streets thronged 
with busy people. This is a great change from 
1744, when the building was erected, and very 
likely at that time stood quite alone. Its thick 
walls are made of adobe and the building is low 
and very plain. Probably it is not very much 
like the structure that was first erected. 

When the United States bought from France 
the great territory between the Mississippi 
River and the Rocky Mountains, known as Loui- 
siana, it was thought at the time that the region 
included Texas. In 1819 the United States 
gave up this claim to Spain in exchange for 
Florida. 

When Mexico rebelled against Spain and be- 
came an independent country, Texas was in- 
cluded in the Mexican territory. Soon Ameri- 
can settlers began to enter Texas, but they had 
little liking for Mexico. 

In 1835 the American settlers in Texas openly 
rebelled and drove the Mexican troops out of 
Texas. The following year Santa Anna, who 
was the ruler of Mexico, with an army invaded 
Texas. He was a very cruel man, and in his 

166 




The ALA.\iu 



"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" 

warfare he murdered the prisoners, the sick and 
the wounded. Finally he was defeated by the 
Texans under General Sam Houston, and Texas 
then became an independent republic until 1845, 
when it was annexed to the United States. 

Long before the coming of Santa Anna, bat- 
tles had been fought at San Antonio, or Bexar, 
as the town then was called. Between 1776 and 
1836 eight battles had been fought in or near 
the place. Four different flags had been seen 
in these battles — Spanish, French, Mexican and 
Texan. 

San Antonio was a small place in 1836. In 
the town at that time were about one hundred 
and fifty soldiers, led by a brave young officer 
named Colonel Travis. The men were fighting 
against the soldiers of Santa Anna and for the 
liberty of Texas. 

When the Mexican general came with his army 
of several thousand men, Colonel Travis was 
aware that he could not long hold the town. 
There were not more than twelve hundred in- 
habitants and most of these were Mexicans. 

However, the young colonel and his followers 
167 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

were not willing to run away, so they all sought 
refuge in the Alamo. There for eleven days 
General Santa Anna and his men kept up a siege. 

Among the soldiers of Colonel Travis were 
two men whose names are still familiar. One 
of these was David Crockett, who had made his 
way across the plains from Tennessee to help 
the Texan Rangers, as the soldiers were called. 
David Crockett said that the one hundred and 
fifty soldiers in the Alamo were a match for the 
entire Mexican army. 

Crockett was commonly called "Davie." As 
a boy he had lived on the frontier in Tennessee. 
Although he had never been to school more than 
six months, he was known on the border as a 
shrewd and able man. All who knew him, be- 
lieved thoroughly in his honesty. 

He was commonly dressed in a suit of deer- 
skin, and wore a cap made from the skin of a 
raccoon, the tail of which was left hanging down 
his back. 

Twice Davie Crockett had been elected to Con- 
gress. His keen and witty sayings and his 
honesty had made his name well known through- 

168 



"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" 

out the country. Indeed, he had been invited 
by his admirers to visit Philadelphia, New 
York, and Boston, where he was entertained in 
a manner that greatly surprised and pleased 
him. 

In his third attempt to be elected to Congress, 
he was defeated. He was keenly disappointed 
over his unexpected defeat, and soon afterward 
left home to go to the help of the Texan 
Eangers. 

Another man in the Alamo at the time of its 
siege by the Mexicans, was Colonel Bowie. 
The bowie knife is named for this man. His 
knife was well known in his day, and his 
marvelous skill in throwing it made him fa- 
mous. 

The little band in the Alamo did not lose 
heart when Santa Anna and his men began 
their siege. They had made a new flag — a big 
white star in the center of a striped field. This 
was the new flag of Texas. The State is some- 
times called ''The Lone Star State." "While 
the flag was being hoisted on the walls the men 
sang, ' ' Up with your banner, Freedom. ' ' At the 

169 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

same time the drums and the trumpets made a 
loud noise. In this way the daring men tried 
to increase their courage as well as to defy their 
enemies. 

Santa Anna sent one of his soldiers to Colonel 
Travis with a message that the fort must be sur- 
rendered at once. With his soldiers, the Mex- 
ican general sent also a red flag, to indicate 
that none of the defenders would be spared if 
the fort was not surrendered. The answer to 
the demand of the Mexicans w^as a cannon shot. 
The siege was at once begun. 

One morning, David — or "Davie" — Crockett 
was awakened by a shot which had struck the 
wall near which he was sleeping. He quickly 
dressed, took his gun and ran to the nearest win- 
dow, or porthole. Looking out, he saw a can- 
non facing the Alamo. A Mexican soldier was 
approaching with a lighted match to fire the can- 
non. Instantly the soldier fell before Davie 
Crockett's keen aim. Another Mexican and 
then another took the match to fire the gun. 
When five different soldiers had tried to dis- 
charge the cannon and every one had fallen, 

170 



"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" 

for a time no one would try to come near the 
spot where it stood. 

Indeed, every sharpshooter in the Alamo was 
watching, and it was not long before no Mexican 
ventured to come very close to the building. 

As the days passed, the brave men in the 
Alamo became desperate. Food was gone and 
water no longer could be had. Santa Anna's 
men increased in number every day. Already, 
by his orders, buildings had been burned and 
homes and farms had been destroyed. He said 
he was going to turn "the blooming paradise 
into a howling wilderness." 

At last, on March 6, the Mexican army in a 
body swooped down upon the Alamo. Still the 
brave men in the building were not willing to 
give up. They defended the little fort until at 
last, when it was taken, only six of the one hun- 
dred and fifty men inside were alive. One of 
these was Davie Crockett. The Mexicans found 
him behind a heap of fallen bodies, still trying 
to defend himself. It is said that the Mexicans 
lost more than one thousand men in their at- 
tack. 

171 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

The six prisoners were speedily taken to the 
commander, Santa Anna. Even when the cruel 
general instantly ordered his men to rush with 
drawn swords upon the helpless prisoners, 
Crockett still tried to defend himself. 

To this day the Alamo is known as the "Cra- 
dle of Texas Liberty." 

"Remember the Alamo," became a well 
known and familiar saying. It was heard even 
in songs, and often when men tried to arouse 
their friends to face a difficulty boldly, they 
would say, ^ ' Remember the Alamo. ' ' 

Davie Crockett was sometimes called "Go 
Ahead" Crockett. In a quaint little book, in 
which he records the story of his life, he 
writes, — 

"I leave this rule for others when I'm dead; 
Be sure you're right — then go ahead." 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE CKESCENT CITY 

THE country around New Orleans is very- 
flat and low. Indeed, its surface is only 
a few feet above the level of the sea. There 
are times when the tide of the lower Mississippi 
Eiver rises so high that the waters would over- 
flow these lands if it were not for the dikes or 
levees, which have been built to keep back the 
floods. 

When we come within a few miles of the city 
w^e notice many swamps in which tall cypress 
and other trees are growing. Long strings of 
beautiful moss are hanging from the branches. 
Sometimes, right in the midst of these great 
timbers we see a sawmill or a lumber camp. 

Years ago it was believed that the ground on 
which New Orleans stands was so soft that it 
was not safe to erect large buildings upon it. 

173 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

In recent years, however, the soil has been 
drained, and piles have been driven into it for 
the foundations of the many new and imposing 
building's which now are to be seen in the city. 

When the French Captain Bienville, in 1718, 
founded the city of New Orleans, he named the 
place for the French Eegent, the Duke of Or- 
leans. Soon afterward, he made it the capital 
of the French colony of Louisiana. At that 
time Louisiana covered much more than the 
State which we know to-day. Much of the coun- 
try through which the Mississippi River flows 
was a part of it. 

Later, in 1763, Louisiana was ceded to Spain. 
The Spanish Governor had some trouble with 
the few people who lived there and at last was 
driven out by them. Then the Spanish soldiers 
and sailors came and shot the leaders of the peo- 
ple who had turned against the Governor. 

In 1800, Spain ceded New Orleans to France. 
Three years later, in 1803, Thomas Jefferson ar- 
ranged for the United States to purchase Loui- 
siana ; and New Orleans and all the vast region 
beyond then became a part of our country. 

174 




A Courtyard in the Frt'iicli Quarter 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

So we see that three different nations have 
owned the Crescent City. Although it passed 
from the possession of one to another, many of 
the people who had come there still remained 
after the changes in control had been made. 
When you look about the city to-day you find 
many things that make you think of the Span- 
iards, many others make you think of the French 
and still many more of the Americans. 

Why is New Orleans called the Crescent 
City? It would be difficult to find the reason 
for this name from anything you can see when 
you visit the city to-day. Years ago, however, 
when New Orleans was small, it was built along 
the shores of a bond of the Mississippi Eiver. 
Because the town grew along this bend, its form 
at that time was like a crescent. In recent years 
it has grown so fast and so far in different di- 
rections that the shape of the crescent no longer 
is found. 

One of our first visits after we arrive in New 
Orleans is to the French Quarter. This part 
of the city is one of the oldest. Soon, however, 
it will be gone and lofty buildings will take the 

176 




Exchange Alley 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

place of the quaint little structures that still are 
to be seen. 

How narrow the little streets are ! We 
watch some of the people as they assemble in 
the market places. Some of them are talking 
French, just as their ancestors here did nearly 
two hundred years ago. Indeed, it is not very 
long ago since the French language was heard 
in the courts, in society and on the streets of 
New Orleans. Lately many Italians have been 
coming and are now living in the quarters once 
occupied by the French. 

The influence of the old French and Spanish 
peoples is still strong. You notice the French 
or Spanish names on the corners of many 
streets. You notice also numerous houses that 
are built after the Spanish or French style of 
architecture. You still find traces of the cus- 
toms of the two nations in the manner of life 
and in the ways of the people. Perhaps these 
are displayed most of all on the holidays. 

On All Saints' Day, November 1, crowds of 
people go out to visit the cemeteries and deco- 
rate the graves. In certain of the cemeteries 

178 




^Wood^a.!-^ 



Door ..n Ih^Fj^r^ch^E^^'^- 



Doorway in^ ax Old French Market 



THE CRESCENT CITY 

you will find tombs like some in Paris. In these 
tombs are several tiers or shelves upon which 
the bodies of the dead are laid. 

Mardi-Gras, Shrove Tuesday, is the greatest 
of all the festival days. Then there are parades 




III m 



A New Orleans Cemetery 



in which strange and beautiful floats are seen. 
All along the route of the parade the sidewalks 
are thronged. People are watching the many 
processions of those who are dressed in gro- 
tesque or fancy costumes. Many are wearing 
queer masks. Canal Street, which is very wide 
13 179 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

and is the leading business street of New Or- 
leans, is thronged with people watching the pa- 
rade. This festival has been celebrated since 
the early days of the city. 

The people of New Orleans are very fond of 
taking their pleasures in the open air. Five 
or six miles from the Mississippi River, and 
near the city, there is a lake — Pontchartrain. 
Here the people come to fish, to sail their boats 
and picnic along the shores in hot weather. 

We are here in the early part of April. Al- 
ready the leaves are appearing on the trees and 
the air is as warm and mild as it is in the North 
early in June. The lawns are green and many 
flowers are already in bloom. 

We secure a driver who takes us for a ride 
along St. Charles Avenue. This is a very wide 
and beautiful street. There are plots of grass 
in the middle of it and driveways on either side. 
There are also many other beautiful residential 
streets that cross this long avenue. 

Audubon Park is the place where sugar cane 
was first grown in the State. Now there is a 
sugar experimental station there. This park 

180 




Courtyard on Carondclot Street 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

covers three hundred acres and is on the river 
front. We are deeply interested also in some 
spreading live oak trees, two hundred or more 
years old. 

Of the people who live in New Orleans about 
one quarter are colored. The others are made 
up of American, French, German, Spanish, 
Irish, Italian and other races. 

It is said that nearly three million bales of 
cotton are handled on the docks of New Orleans 
every year. It would be interesting to go into 
the fields and see the way the cotton-seed is 
planted and how the plant is cared for until the 
fluffy little balls appear and then are picked and 
packed. 

Sugar and molasses are also sources of great 
wealth. Besides these, rice, pork, timber, wool, 
corn, tobacco and hides provide many indus- 
tries. 

New Orleans has a wonderful harbor and 
, great wharves and warehouses that extend for 
miles along the shores. Hundreds of ships line 
these busy wharves. Coal, lumber, lime, cotton- 
seed and other products are brought here. 

182 



THE CRESCENT CITY 

The city has two canals which greatly increase 
the commerce. Indeed, New Orleans is almost 
surrounded by water. 

Years ago there were many stories told of the 
races between the great flat-bottomed boats that 
came down the Mississippi to New Orleans. 




The Calaboose 



The river was so shallow that frequently these 
steamboats ran aground. They were strange- 
looking boats, too, for they were very large and 
very broad and flat. Far away one could hear 
the slap, slap of the blades of the paddle-wheels 
on the water. It is said there are 18,760 miles 

183 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

over wliicli one can sail, all of which are parts 
of the mighty river system of the Missis- 
sippi. 

Here, too, is a large government dry-dock, 
where ships can be raised out of the water while 
repairs are made to them. Near the mouth of 
the Mississippi is the outlet of the greatest agri- 
cultural valley in all the world. 

We must not leave the city before we visit 
some of the interesting squares and see more 
of the imposing statues. Among those which 
we most admire are statues of General Lee and 
General Jackson. 

In the War of 1812, General Jackson had 
about six thousand American soldiers under 
his command at New Orleans. Peace between 
the United States and Great Britain had been 
declared and the Treaty of Ghent had been 
signed at the time when he was there, although 
Jackson was not yet aware of it. 

On the eighth day of January in 1815, a great 
battle was fought near the city, between the 
American and the British soldiers. Among the 
latter were many brave veterans who had 

184 



THE CRESCENT CITY 

fouglit the great Napoleon. Their leader at 
New Orleans was a brother-in-law of the Duke 
of Wellington. There, were more than twelve 
thousand men in the British army at that time 
at New Orleans. 

General Jackson had thrown up some lines of 
earthworks, which he strengthened with cotton- 
bales. 

When the fighting began the Americans 
waited for the redcoats to approach within two 
hundred yards of their ranks before they fired. 
In less than one-half hour the attacking force 
was shattered and scattered. The commander 
had been killed and the entire British loss was 
twenty-six hundred men. On the American side 
only eight were killed and thirteen wounded. 
This was one of the most wonderful battles in 
the history of America. It lasted only twenty- 
five minutes. 

In the Civil War, after New Orleans had 
placed a great many heavy chains across the 
river to prevent the Union boats from coming 
up the stream, if the forts below should not be 
able to stop them, there was another famous ea- 

185 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

gagement. Admiral Farragut came with his 
boats steadily up the river and soon New 
Orleans surrendered. The soldiers in the Civil 
War that came from Louisiana were very brave. 
''Louisiana Tigers" was the name by which 
some of them were known. 

The streets of beautiful homes, the palmetto 
and magnolia trees, the bright-colored flowers, 
the grinning faces of the negro children and the 
thronged streets of business all interest us. We 
are, however, most impressed by the huge docks 
of New Orleans. Here the negroes are singing 
while they are busily loading or unloading the 
great boats. 

Not only do many boats come down the Mis- 
sissippi River to New Orleans but there are 
also steamers here from many places along the 
coast. Boats from New York, Boston, Key 
West; from Havana, Vera Cruz, Liverpool, 
Hamburg and many other places in Europe, as 
well as from Central and South America, bring 
their cargoes and receive their loads before they 
depart. Indeed, New Orleans is the third port 
of the United States. New York and Boston 

186 




^^■\ ^v--^-- ^■'---•%. ;,/'-''^''t-t.J^Li4i!^. 

A- •^'/"'^^ - ^ 'V ./VK \^\ V?^ rf^^ 



" it 111 i K f 

W Willie. '1 1 ,'/ 

=^ *\wii« t,V/ 

tm ivjiiil i/' I 




A New Orleans Yard and Cistern 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 



are the only cities in which the shipping is 
greater. 

Large quantities of fruits from Central and 
South America are brought here. There are 
so many bananas at times that it does not seem 
possible they can all be used. 

The houses with pillars, the tiled roofs, the 







Typical Old New Orleans Dwelling 

inner courts of the houses, the gardens, partly 
hidden by the walls, the windows with their 
small panes, the walls of adobe in the old parts 
of the city, all help us to see what New Orleans 
has been. So also do some of the customs of 
the people. In the newer quarters, however, we 
see beautiful homes, many of which have been 

188 



THE CRESCENT CITY 

built on the older plans, but are modern in every 
other way. It is a most picturesque city. 

A writer who is very familiar with New Or- 
leans has described it as "a city of villas, cot- 
tages and gardens. These are crossed by four 









i^^U. 



)■, ^ 




p^^^ a " ; "' 







A Creole Parterre 



hundred and seventy miles of unpaved streets. 
It is a city shaded by forest trees, haunted by 
song birds and fragrant with a wealth of flow- 
ers that never fails a day in the year." The 
fruit — the fig, the plum, the pomegranate and 

189 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

the orange trees with their blossoms and fra- 
grance as well as their fruit — add to the beauty 
as well as to the value of the Crescent City. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE FATHER OF WATERS 

TWO Indian words {Miclie, Sepe) mean the 
''Great River," or the ''Father of Wa- 
ters." This was the Indian name for the Mis- 
sissippi, the largest river in North America. 

Soon after the white men came to America, 
the Indians told them of the ''big water" far 
in the West. De Soto, however, was the first 
white man to behold the gTeat river. He was 
the Spanish Governor of Cuba in 1539, when he 
set sail with nine hundred men and landed in 
Florida. For three years he marched about the 
near by country, hoping all the time to find and 
conquer a rich Indian kingdom. 

Near the present southern boundary of Ten- 
nessee, he and his followers crossed the Missis- 
sippi River, in April, 1541. As he advanced still 
farther westward he found only a wilderness 

191 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

and savages. Soon after this, his men hecame 
discouraged, but De Soto insisted upon still 
keeping on. At last, even his iron heart lost its 
courage and hope. He began to move south- 
ward on his way homeward. 

But the daring explorer never again saw his 
native land. On the banks of the great river 
which he had discovered, near the mouth of the 
Red River, he died. His body was buried in the 
Mississippi. 

Later, in 1673, Father Marquette, a devoted 
French missionary, with Joliet, a French trader, 
came from Quebec and sailed down the Missis- 
sippi as far as the place where De Soto had 
crossed it. 

Still later, in 1682, La Salle, another French- 
man, sailed all the way down the great river to 
its mouth. He claimed for King Louis of 
France all the territory through which the Mis- 
sissippi flows. In honor of his king. La Salle 
named the entire region Louisiana. 

Two years later, after La Salle had taken 
home to France wonderful stories of the beauty 
and fertility of Louisiana, a company of his 

192 



THE FATHER OF WATERS 

countrymen eagerly returned with him to Amer- 
ica. 

They were not able to find the great river 
again. At last they all sailed on to what now 
is Texas. There La Salle was murdered. The 
little colony, too, was broken up by sickness and 
starvation. 

The Mississippi is 2,616 miles long. If the 
Missouri River, which is really a part of the 
Mississippi, should be included, the total length 
would be 4,190 miles. This means that the great 
river is as long as a journey from Boston to 
San Francisco and then back again as far as 
Denver! The country which it drains covers 
nearly one million and a half square miles. 

Years ago, when men were trying to find the 
source of the Mississippi, they followed the 
stream into northern Minnesota. There, in a 
country which abounds in swamps and little 
lakes, for that is what the Indian word Minne- 
sota means, they thought they had found its be- 
ginnings in Lake Itasca. More recently, ex- 
plorers have said that the real source is in Elk 
Lake, a little farther on. 

193 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

It is a strange-looking ''river" when it first 
comes out of these swamps. It is then a little 
brook, only ten feet wide and not more than two 
feet deep. Indeed, as it goes on its way, for 
many miles it is only a small stream. 

The source is 1,462 feet above the sea-level. 
In certain places, before the mighty river emp- 
ties into the Gulf of Mexico, it is even below 
the level of the sea. This long fall or grade 
is one of the causes of the water moving forward 
so steadily. 

For miles the river winds in and out among 
the hills and swamps of Minnesota until it has 
gone two hundred and seventy miles. Then, at 
Pokegama Falls, its bed is through a series of 
rapids where there is a fall of twenty feet. The 
bed of the river there is three hundred and 
twenty feet lower than it was at Lake Itasca. 

After the river leaves the Falls, the bed is only 
one foot lower at the end of every successive 
mile, until it comes to the Sauk Rapids, that ex- 
tend for almost a mile. 

Where the Mississippi pours its waters over 
rocks fifty feet high at the Falls of St. An- 

194 



THE FATHER OF WATERS 

tliony, Minneapolis, it becomes a larger river. 
There it is twelve hundred feet wide. The rush- 
ing waters pass through the rapids for three 
quarters of a mile, until they have made a total 
descent of sixty-five feet. Smaller boats can 
sail on the river before it comes to the Falls 
of St. Anthony. From now on until the Mis- 
sissippi reaches the city of St. Louis, it is very 
different from what it w^as before. 

St. Paul is the head of navigation for big 
boats. A voyage from St. Paul down the river 
on a steamboat is most interesting. We pass 
places where the shore consists of great cliffs. 
Some of the cliffs rise as high as five hundred 
feet above the bed of the river. 

After we have gone three hundred and eighty- 
one miles, we come to the rapids at Rock Island, 
where the waters are so swift that our Govern- 
ment has had to do much work in order to 
make it possible for boats to pass. Some of 
these great bluffs are close together and others 
are as much as five miles apart. At Rock 
Island there is a long bridge across the river to 
Davenport, Iowa. 

14 195 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

At Quincy there is another long bridge across 
the mighty river. Here the high bluff on the 
eastern bank is very impressive. There are 
also magnificent bridges at Dubuque, Burling- 
ton, Fort Madison and other places. 

Most of the way the water over which we have 




steamboat on the Mississippi 



been sailing has been clear and clean. Soon 
after this, however, we notice that it has new 
and strange colorings. The stream now is 
muddy, although there are occasional places still 
where it is clear. This coloring is due to the 
fact that the Missouri River has poured its 

196 



THE FATHER OF WATERS 

waters, wliicli have come nearly three thousand 
miles, into the Mississippi. Indeed, the Mis- 
souri is a larger river than the Mississippi has 
been down to this point. It is said there are 
forty-five streams that are navigable which 
empty into the Mississippi, and more than two 
hundred and forty streams that are shown on 
ordinary maps join it. 

The Mississippi River forms the boundary 
line of ten States. We have learned also that 
twice as many States are crossed by the streams 
that flow into it. Which States are they? Can 
you tell what cities we pass on our voyage from 
St. Paul to St. Louis? 

St. Louis is a large and interesting city. In 
its early days people came here both from the 
South and from New England. It is said there 
is no city in the land in which the two peoples 
have so met and influenced each other as in St. 
Louis. 

In those early days St. Louis was a place to 
which the fur traders used to come. After they 
had trapped the fur-bearing animals far in the 
north, they brought the skins to what at first 

197 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

was called Pain Court, and later St. Louis. It 
was a station established by the French in 
1756. 

You can still see, in the names of some of the 
streets for example, the traces of the life and 
works of those early settlers. It is now the 
largest city in Missouri, and is fourth in size 
among the cities of the United States. Its loca- 
tion makes it the center of the trade from the 
Mississippi River. 

The Court House and the Merchants Ex- 
change are imposing buildings. On the walls of 
each there are striking and interesting frescoes. 
St. Louis is laid out in squares, very much as 
Philadelphia is. 

The Missouri Botanical Gardens, said to be 
the finest of their kind in our country, are lo- 
cated there. 

In Forest Park are winding driveways and 
great spreading trees. In 1904 the Louisiana 
Exposition was held in this park. This was a 
celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of 
the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Do 
you know who advised the purchase? And do 

198 



THE FATHER OP WATERS 

you know, too, whicli States were included in 
the Territory? 

Several wide avenues leading to Forest Park 
are called places. Here are many stately 
houses with extensive and well kept grounds. 
At each end of a place is a gateway, high and 
richly ornamented. 

We are impressed by the long bridges across 
the Mississippi. What is called the St. Louis, 
or Eads, Bridge is more than two thousand 
yards long. It is built in two stories. On the 
upper part people and carriages go. The rail- 
way trains cross on the lower. Three miles 
farther up the river w^e see the Merchants 
Bridge. That is for railroads only. 

Memjohis, Tennessee, is the largest place be- 
tween St. Louis and New Orleans, near the Gulf 
of Mexico. It is one of the most enterprising 
and energetic towns we have ever seen. There 
is still another bridge here across the wide 
river. 

The most interesting place we visit in Mem- 
phis is the mills where bales of cotton are 
squeezed by hydraulic pressure into one quarter 

199 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

their former size. In this way they are pre- 
pared for shipment and occupy much less space 
than they would otherwise when they are 
shipped on a boat or car. 

We stop also at Vicksburg, Mississippi, which 
is the largest city in the State, although only 
about 20,000 people live there. 

In the Civil War Vicksburg was known as 
the "Key of the Mississippi." There the Con- 
federate soldiers had a strong fort and a garri- 
son. 

Vicksburg was not taken by the Union Army 
until the fourth of July, 1863. Then, after a 
long siege. General Grant and his great army 
were successful. 

Above the city is a National Cemetery, 
where are the graves of nearly seventeen thou- 
sand soldiers. 

The country near the river is very low. In 
the spring, or when there is a severe storm, the 
water in the Mississippi rises and the lowlands 
are flooded. One time, at Vicksburg, when there 
was a flood, the river rose fifty-five feet. In 
1897 the Mississippi flooded more than twenty 

200 




m 



THE FATHER OF WATERS 

thousand square miles. At such times great 
damage is done and many lives are lost. 

To-day, all along the river, below Memphis, 
we find that banks of earth have been thrown up 
to hold back the water when it threatens to over- 
flow. These banks are called levees. 

Out in the streams, too, at various places, we 
notice long, low jetties. They are made of 
stone, wood, cement, etc. They help to change 
the direction of the channel of the stream when 
there is danger of a flood. The water is muddy 
all the way from Vicksburg to the Gulf of Mex- 
ico. 

When we resume our voyage, we are inter- 
ested in watching some negro boys near the 
shore, who are fishing. We are told that cat- 
fish that weigh sixty pounds or more are caught 
in these muddy waters. In the little bays there 
are other negro boys catching crawfish. 

When we get below New Orleans we see only 
a few trees. The banks are very low and at 
last it seems as if the river had become one 
great marsh, through which there are numerous 
channels. Little farms and gardens, such as 

201 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

we saw near New Orleans, are no longer 
found. 

Soon we come to what is perhaps the most 
wonderful sight of our entire voyage — the Eads 
Jetties. They were planned and built by the 
same man that constructed the bridge at St. 
Louis. By means of these jetties the channel 
has been made more than three times as deep as 
it was before. 

Many different plans have been tried to hold 
the river in its place, but the Mississippi is very 
powerful and is hard to control. One scheme 
used was to build a lattice-work of brush, tim- 
bers and wire, where there was special danger 
of the water carrying away the soil. Of course 
the water rushes through this lattice-work, but 
much of the soil is prevented by it from being 
washed away. The lattice-work is held in its 
place by rubble (broken stone) and ballast. 

After our voyage we are not surprised when 
we are told that nearly thirty million tons is 
the weight of the cargoes that are carried every 
year on this mighty river. Ten thousand boats 
are required to carry these cargoes. 

202 



THE FATHER OF WATERS 

At the mouth of the Mississippi is the Delta, 
which is really a great marsh or swamp. Gor- 
geous flowers and tropical plants of many kinds 
are to be seen in it in many places. 

How different they are from the plants and 
cities of the far-away North, where the "Father 
of Waters" begins his long journey of 2,616 
miles. . 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

HOW to carry people from one place to an- 
other in a great city is a difficult problem. 
Especially is this harden such a city as New 
York, a large part of which has been built on a 
long, narrow island. 

As the years passed, after the city began to 
increase rapidly in its population, the lower part 
of Manhattan Island more and more was given 
up to business. Then the men who were en- 
gaged in business there were compelled to make 
their homes a long way from their offices. As 
the city continued to grow, more and more such 
people found homes in New Jersey, Connecticut, 
Long Island and along the shores of the Hudson 
River. 

In 1883, when the Brooklyn Bridge was com- 
pleted, New York and Brooklyn were two dis- 

204 



THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

tinct cities. New York at that time was the 
largest city in the United States, and Brooklyn 
was the fourth in population. They are now 
parts of one city, which is second only to Lon- 
don in its size among the cities of the world. 

Before the bridge was built the New York 
business men who lived in Brooklyn depended 
upon the ferries on the East River to carry them 
back and forth at morning and night. Although 
there were many of these ferries, still there 
were not enough to carry all the people that 
were dependent upon them. Then, too, when 
ice was floating in the river, or there was an un- 
usually heavy fog, the ferry boats were delayed 
and the men were late in arrivin'^ at their of- 
fices. 

Since the Brooklyn Bridge has been built 
other bridges also have been constructed con- 
necting Brooklyn with New York. 

The Williamsburg Bridge was finished in 1904. 
It is both a suspension and a cantilever bridge. 
With its approaches it is seventy-two hundred 
feet long. Think of a bridge a mile and one 
quarter in length ! There are two railway 

205 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

tracks on it, four lines of trolleys, two paths for 
bicycles, two footpaths and two roadways. 

The Manhattan Bridge, which crosses from 
Canal Street, New York, to Washington Street, 
Brooklyn, is nearly two miles long (9,900 feet). 
It is very much like the Williamsburg Bridge. 
There is room for eight railway tracks on it be- 
sides the footpaths and the roads for driv- 
ing. 

The Queensboro' Bridge (Blackwell's Island) 
is a mile and one-half long (7,450 feet). On 
this bridge there is room for six railway tracks 
in addition to the roads and footpaths. 

The Brooklyn Bridge, however, since it was 
the first of these great bridges to be erected, is 
the one that is most widely known. It has two 
roads for wagons and carriages on either side 
of it, a wade footpath in the middle, and two 
railway tracks, besides tracks for trolleys. 

It is a beautiful structure, fifty-nine hundred 
feet long (one mile and an eighth). Between 
the two great piers there is a main span, fifteen 
hundred and ninety-five feet long. The great 
stone piers, which are two hundred and seventy 

206 



THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

feet liigli, rest on the rocky bed of the river, 
eighty feet below the surface on the New York 
side and forty-five feet below on the Brooklyn 
side. The bridge itself is made entirely of iron 
and steel. 

From the tall, stone piers we see four great 
steel-wire cables extending, each sixteen inches 
in diameter, which uphold the structure. These 
great cables are anchored at each end by thou- 
sands of yards of solid mason work. These 
cables weigh thirty-six hundred tons. In them 
there are thousands of miles of wire. When we 
learn that annually more than sixty million peo- 
ple ride in the bridge trains and that fifty mil- 
lion are carried in trolley cars across the Brook- 
lyn Bridge, in addition to the throngs that walk 
across it, we are not surprised that such cables 
are required. It is said that every year at least 
five million people walk across the Brooklyn 
Bridge. How many in all cross the bridge 
every day? 

Some of the other long bridges of the world 
are Forth Bridge in Scotland, seventeen hun- 
dred feet long, and the suspension bridge over 

207 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

the Danube River at Budapest, which is twelve 
hundred and fifty feet long. 

It is a clear day when we decide to walk across 
the Brooklyn Bridge. Midway, we stop and 
look down upon the river, one hundred and 
thirty-five feet directly beneath us. The bridge 
here is eighty-five feet wide. There is a steady 
stream of people, trolley cars, automobiles, 
horses and wagons moving past us, but we are 
so interested in what we see before us that we 
almost forget the busy throng. 

From our high position we have a wonderful . 
view. Standing where we are. New York is on 
our western side and Brooklyn is on our east- 
ern. Looking southward we see the Statue of 
Liberty and the waters of New York Harbor. 
On our north is the East River, which the bridge 
spans. As far as we can see its shores are lined 
with boats. 

Brooklyn has been called the city of homes 
and also the city of churches. It is not difficult 
for us to believe that there are more than six 
hundred churches in Brooklyn, because from the 
place where we are standing we can count so 

208 



THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

many spires. Parts of the city, especially its 
parks, are very attractive. Prospect Park is the 
most beautiful of all the parks. Much of it has 
been left in its natural state. 

What an interesting place the Brooklyn Navy 
Yard is. It is the leading naval station of our 
country. Almost any time you may go there 
you will be sure to see warships. There are 
three immense dry-docks in which these boats 
are repaired. More than four thousand men 
are employed. 

The largest dock in Brooklyn is the Atlantic 
Basin. About forty acres are covered by it and 
a total of more than two miles of wharves are to 
be found there. 

The view from the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset 
on a clear day is one that cannot be forgotten. 
The rays of the setting sun reflected by the 
ocean and river, the low-lying lands of New 
Jersey in the distance, the winding waters be- 
neath us, are as interesting as the great crowds 
of people hurrying to and fro. There are those, 
however, who say that Brooklyn Bridge is even 
more impressive at night when its hundreds of 

209 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

electric lights make its entire length brilliant in 
the darkness. 

Beyond Brooklyn is Coney Island, a strip of 
white sand that is known all over the world. 
Coney Island is divided into four parts : West 
End (Sea Gate), West Brighton, Brighton 
Beach and Manhattan Beach. 

How to describe the gay scenes at West 
Brighton is almost beyond the power of any 
one. The beach is covered with more kinds of 
''shows" than can be found in any other one 
place in the world. Amusements that interest 
and others that make the spectators roar with 
laughter are there. Many of these amusements 
are not highly refined, but everybody that comes 
to Coney Island comes for a good time, and all 
try to take in a good-natured manner the jokes 
and pranks that may be played upon them. 

There, too, are two great iron piers, which ex- 
tend more than one thousand feet into the water. 
They are crowded with people. At Luna Park, 
one of the amusement resorts, more than six 
hundred thousand electric lights are glistening 
every night. 

210 



THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

When we come back to New York we decide 
to try first the subway, or underground railway, 
and later to ride on the elevated roads. One of 
our party afterward said, "What a strange 
thing it is that you have to go upstairs at the 
station to take the subway and go downstairs at 
other stations to take the elevated. ' ' This, how- 
ever, is true of only a few stations. Each road 
runs nearly on a level and this fact naturally 
causes some stations to be higher or lower than 
others. 

The first subway, or underground railway, in 
New York, was opened in 1904. Four years 
later the tunnel was extended under the East 
River to Brooklyn. There are also tunnels un- 
der the Hudson River through which the New 
Jersey people are carried to their waiting trains 
in Jersey City or Hoboken. When our train is 
directly under the river we are scarcely aware 
of the fact. 

There are four elevated railways. All the 
cars are run by electricity. It is a very inter- 
esting experience to sit in a car and from the 
window look into the second, third or fourth 
15 211 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

stories of the houses we swiftly pass. At 110th 
Street in New York the Ninth Avenue Elevated 
Road is sixty-five feet above the street below. 
There are stations or stops every five or six 
blocks. 

After you climb the stairs to a station, you 
buy your ticket (five cents) and then drop it 
into the "chopper" box, which a man guards at 
the entrance to the jDlaform. There is a clatter 
and roar from the passing trains almost all the 
time. In the "rush hours" the trains follow 
one another very closely. 

It seems to a stranger as if all New York is 
moving as rapidly as it knows how. The peo- 
ple do not seem to you to be sure just where 
they are going, but they all seem eager to get 
there as quickly as possible. 

In spite of steam and trolley cars, electric 
buses, subways, elevated roads, sidewalks, four 
immense bridges, all of which are thronged, the 
transportation of the people of the great city 
becomes more difficult with every passing year. 
Very soon more subways will be ready for use. 

Of all these various means, however, the 
212 



THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

Brooklyn Bridge is tlie most striking. High in 
the air, held in its place by a power one does 
not see, its strength and dignity are as marked 
as its usefulness. By it the two cities are bound 
together as firmly as they were by the law which 
made them one. 



CHAPTEE XX 

SAN FRANCISCO AND THE GOLDEN GATE 

JUST where San Francisco Bay and the Pa- 
cific Ocean join there is a narrow stretch of 
water, not more than a mile wide. This is the 
Golden Gate. 

When one stands on one of the many moun- 
tains that shut in the bay, or from the deck of 
a ferry-boat looks toward this little golden en- 
trance, he understands why it received its name. 
Not only is the State of California noted for its 
gold, but the light of the sun, the tints of the 
sky and the ocean all seem to unite in making 
this spot also golden in its color. 

Through the Golden Gate come and go steam- 
ships from Honolulu, Panama, Japan, China, 
Yokohama, Hong Kong and other places in the 
far East. Other steamers pass through the 
Golden Gate bound for Santa Barbara, Los An- 
geles, and San Diego on the coast. Through 

214 



SAN FRANCISCO AND THE GOLDEN GATE 

it, too, sail ships for cities of the North and for 
Alaska. 

San Francisco has one of the largest and best 
harbors in all the world. The broad San Fran- 
cisco Bay extends more than fifty miles back 
into the beautiful country. In places it is ten 
miles wide. The city of San Francisco lies on 
the border of this bay and on the steep hills that 
rise from its shore. What an interesting city it 
is, and what an interesting story, too, it can tell 
of the different men that have lived in it during 
its brief history. 

Near here, in 1776, the Mexican priests estab- 
lished a mission. They founded the church, 
Mission Dolores, two years later. The building 
is still standing. The adobe stone of which it 
w^as built now looks very old and weather- 
beaten. 

Near the little church is an overgrown church- 
yard, which appears to be almost as old as the 
building. There the body of the first Mexican 
Governor was buried. Some people say that in 
the great fire in San Francisco, in 1906, the 
flames halted at this place. 

215 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

A little village, Yerba Buena, named from the 
wild mint, sprang up in 1835, not far from the 
Mission Dolores. In 1846 this little village be- 
came American and the following year its name 
was changed to San Francisco. 

Gold was discovered in California in 1848, 
when San Francisco contained only about five 
hundred people. Two years later the city had 
twenty-five thousand inhabitants, and to-day it 
is one of the first ten cities in the United States. 

In the early days, even after San Francisco 
had received its charter as a city (1850), there 
was such a wild class of men that had come 
there in their search for gold, that what was 
called a Vigilance Committee was formed. 
These men took the law into their own hands 
and the city was soon made more orderly. 

The people of San Francisco are very proud 
of its climate. This does not vary as much 
throughout the year as it does in many parts of 
our country. 

Although earthquakes occasionally have oc- 
curred there, what is known as the *' great earth- 
quake" was in 1906. This "quake" lasted only 

216 



SAN FRANCISCO AND THE GOLDEN GATE 

about a minute, but in that time streets cracked, 
tall chimneys were broken and some of the 
wooden buildings fell to the ground. Not many 
of the strong buildings, however, were injured 
until a fire speedily broke out after the earth- 
quake, and burned over more than four square 
miles of the city. The earthquake had twisted 
the water-pipes so that the fire could not easily 
be put out. 

But San Francisco was not discouraged. To- 
day a stranger would not know that so much 
damage ever had been done. Great buildings 
have been erected on the burned streets and the 
entire city is prosperous. Not only are there 
enterprising Americans in San Francisco but 
men are there from every nation in Europe, 
and there are also many Chinese, Mexicans, 
Japanese, Hawaiians and others. 

Before we leave the city we visit the Chinese 
quarter. Chinatown, as it is called, recently 
has been much improved and is also much 
cleaner than it was before the great fire. As it 
is now, there are more than ten thousand living 
there. Before Congress passed an act which 

217 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS AVANT TO KNOW 

prevented so many Chinese from entering our 
country, there were many more people living 
in Chinatown. Almost all of these strange peo- 
ple living in this part of San Francisco are men. 
One sees very few little children. Among the 
names of the owners of the large stores we no- 
tice Sing Fat and Sing Chow. 

Just a little way beyond Chinatown is what 
is called the Latin Quarter. There the Italians, 
Greeks and Mexicans live. Their shops and 
houses are like those they had in their far-away 
homes. This is true also in the Japanese Quar- 
ter. 

The people here are all busy workers. On a 
certain street is the sign of a man who deals in 
real estate — "We sell the earth." As one lis- 
tens to the conversation of the people on the 
streets he frequently hears the words, "big- 
gest," "greatest," "richest," and other simi- 
lar expressions. The men all seem to be very 
enthusiastic and full of energy. 

Some of the great buildings are named for 
the men who have been very active in the af- 
fairs of the city and State. One of the most im- 

218 



SAN FRANCISCO AND THE GOLDEN GATE 

posing buildings is the Union Ferry Depot, 
from which boats depart to cross San Fran- 
cisco Bay to Oakland and other places. 

One day we cross the Bay and ride on the 
little railroad that ascends to the top of Mount 
Tamalpais. There we obtain a wonderful view 
of the city, the Bay, and of the Golden Gate, 
with the blue Pacific beyond it. 

There are many excursions which one can 
take from the city to places of great interest in 
the vicinity of San Francisco, but the ride to 
the top of this mountain is the one that we en- 
joy most of all. 

San Francisco is built on many hills. Some 
are very steep and it is quite hard to climb 
them. On one of the hills which face the Golden 
Gate is the reservation called the Presidio. 
There the United States has a garrison of sol- 
diers. This reservation covers fifteen hun- 
dred acres and contains many winding walks 
and drives, and from it there are marvelous 
views to be had. If we chance to visit it on a 
Friday afternoon we shall hear the weekly con- 
cert by the military band. 

219 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

We drive also through Golden Gate Park. 
From many places in the beautiful park we can 
see the tossing waves of the Pacific and hear 
the surf breaking on the beach not far away. 

At the Cliff House we stop to watch the seals 
that are basking in the sunlight on the Seal 
Eocks, which are about as far from the shore 
as we can throw a stone. What a peculiar bark 
these strange animals have. We hear it above 
the roaring of the breakers. 

At the United States Mint we find that not 
only is the money of our own country coined, 
but also money for the Philippine Islands. 

We stop for another look at the Golden Gate. 
Our guide informs us that out through the beau- 
tiful entrance and across the Pacific Ocean, 
gold, silver, wine, fruit, oil, lumber, flour and 
wool have gone in such quantities and so much 
coal, rice, sugar, tea, timber, coffee and flour 
have been brought back that every year the car- 
goes of the ships are worth more than one hun- 
dred and thirty million dollars. If this money 
should all be paid in silver dollars and the dol- 
lars should be laid in a straight line touching 

220 



SAN FRANCISCO AND THE GOLDEN GATE 

each other they would extend all the way from 
San Francisco to New York. 

What courage the men of San Francisco have 
shown! Earthquakes and fires have not been 
able to dishearten them. The massive build- 
ings of the city, the schools, parks, homes, 
libraries and broad streets are all evidences of 
the enterprise and energy of the people. 

The Golden Gate, however, is the key to much 
of the success of San Francisco. Indeed, Cali- 
fornia, the Pacific coast and the entire United 
States are proud of the wonderful harbor and 
the laden ships that come and go through it. 
It is, indeed, a gate of gold as well as a golden 
gate. 



CHAPTEE XXI 

ELLIS ISLAND AND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY 

ON a little island in the harbor of New York, 
more foreign people who want to become 
citizens of our country are landed than at any 
other port in America. The name of this place 
is Ellis Island. There are other ports at which 
these people might land, but as most of the big 
boats from Europe come to New York, this 
island is the place where we can see most of the 
immigrants when they arrive in America. If 
we went to Boston, Philadelphia or Baltimore, 
we should see more of them there than in other 
American cities except New York. 

If we wish to go to Ellis Island to see the for- 
eign people land, we must obtain a pass to 
cross the Hudson Eiver on a little steamer 
which leaves New York City every hour. It is 
only a short ride and costs us nothing. 

222 



ELLIS ISLAND AND STATUE OF LIBERTY 

There is a half-hour before our boat is to 
depart. While we are waiting we go to the 
large, round building near by, where years ago 
the immigrants used to land. At that time it 
was called Castle Garden. Now it is the New 
York Aquarium. 

Here is a very large collection of fishes and 
other animals that live in the sea. The strange 
animal known as the seacow has a crowd watch- 
ing it. In another tank are brightly colored fish 
from the tropical waters. Here, too, are giant 
turtles whose heads are almost as large as the 
head of a man. How bright the eyes of the 
seals are and what an intelligent expression is 
on their faces ! 

But it seems to us that the bright eyes of the 
little people at Ellis Island. will be much more 
interesting. After a hasty tour of the Aqua- 
rium we return to the dock and go on board the 
little steamboat which is to carry us across New 
York Harbor. 

When we land, we are pleased by the courtesy 
of the people in charge, who politely show us all 
about the place. 

223 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Years ago Ellis Island covered only an acre. 
To-day the little island has been built up until it 
is eleven times as large as it was originally. 

About one thousand men and women are em- 
ployed here to help the foreign people after 
they land. All of them are under the control 
of the Commissioner of Immigration. It costs 
about four dollars to care for each person that 
lands on Ellis Island. This money is raised by 
taxing every one that comes to make his home in 
the United States. 

Fifty years ago most of the immigrants to 
America came from Great Britain or from the 
northern part of Europe. To-day there are a 
great many more who come from the southern 
part of Europe. Some of these newcomers 
seem to us very strange in their dress and man- 
ners. Perhaps they think we are just as pecu- 
liar. There are many boys and girls to be seen 
whose bright eyes are looking with keen interest 
all about them. 

About three thousand new people land in 
America every day. 

There are very imposing buildings on Ellis 
224 



ELLIS ISLAND AND STATUE OF LIBERTY 

Island, some of which we are welcome to visit. 
There is a great Main Building, around which 
are beautiful walks and hedges. Then there is 
also an excellent hospital in which all the sick 
immigrants are cared for. 

It is very interesting to go into the dining- 
hall and see the great rows of long, narrow 
tables at which the people are fed daily until 
they go to their new homes. 

No one who is a criminal or who has no money 
at all is allowed to enter the country as an immi- 
grant. The money of every one must be counted 
as soon as he lands and he must be told where 
and how to go to the places he wishes to find. 
Other forms, too, must be gone through be- 
fore a band of immigrants can leave Ellis 
Island. 

When we stop to think of it we are aware 
that all the white people in America either are 
immigrants or had immigrants for their ances- 
tors. We hope all the strangely dressed people 
we see at Ellis Island will soon find homes and 
will become good citizens of the United States 
of America. 

225 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

From Ellis Island one can see a tiny little 
island near by on wliich is standing a huge figure 
called ' ' Liberty Enliglitening the World. ' ' This 
immense statue is made of copper and iron. 

France gave it to us on the one-hundredth an- 
niversary of the signing of the Declaration of 
Independence. The man who planned this great 
statue was named Bartholdi. It was kind and 
thoughtful of France, which has a form of gov- 
ernment very like our own, to give us this pres- 
ent. 

The statue is in the form of a woman. It is 
one hundred and fifty feet from her feet to the 
top of the torch which she is holding aloft in 
her hand. She weighs two hundred and twenty- 
five tons. 

The granite base, on which the statue stands, 
is one hundred and fifty feet high. The money 
to build this beautiful pedestal was given in 
small sums by the people of our own country. 

Inside the figure of copper and iron is a stair- 
way that leads up to Miss Liberty's head. In- 
side her head is room for forty people to stand 
at the same time. Standing there one can see 

226 



ELLIS ISLAND AND STATUE OP LIBERTY 

far into the city and also into the country round 
about. 

Up the beautiful harbor are coming some 
ocean steamers. Every one of these carries 
more people than are to be found in many a 
village. There are noisy little tug boats, boats 
with sails, and even skiffs can be seen here and 
there on the water. Scores of ferrj^-boats are 
going back and forth between New York and 
Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey. It is 
a busy scene all day long. 

All this is the sight which greets the foreign 
people when they first land at Ellis Island. 



16 



CHAPTER XXII 

THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES 

THE five Great Lakes, located on the border 
between Canada and the United States, are 
all connected, and together they form the largest 
body of fresh water in the world. 

At the head of Lake Superior, the largest of 
these lakes, is Dulutli, in Minnesota. This city 
sometimes has been called the '^Zenith City of 
the Unsalted Seas." It is difficult for us to 
realize, when we first see its busy streets and 
attractive homes, that only as far back as 1860, 
there were only eiglity white people living there. 
To-day eighty thousand live in Duluth. 

The reason why Duluth has grown so rapidly 
is due to the fact that it is located at the head 
of the Great Lakes. It has also excellent water 
power and is a busy railroad center. Behind it 
are many thousands of wheat fields and rich 

228 



THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES 

iron mines. Together with the enterprise of its 
citizens, these have helped Duluth to grow so 
rapidly. 

There is a short canal at the entrance of its 
wide harbor. Across this canal there is a won- 
derful bridge, high in the air. It is called an 
aerial bridge and is one hundred and thirty-five 
feet high and nearly four hundred feet long. 

Boats loaded with grain at Duluth may sail 
down Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, 
Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River; and 
some do not stop until they have unloaded their 
cargoes at Liverpool, in England. That is a 
very long voyage. How long is it? The grain 
received and shipped at Duluth amounts to al- 
most one hundred million bushels annually. 

The lumber mills of the Zenith City, where 
many million feet of lumber are sawed and 
planed, are as interesting as the grain elevators. 
In some years nearly fifty thousand vessels en- 
ter or depart from the harbor at Duluth. Many 
of the ships also that come to Duluth bring car- 
goes of coal. When they depart they carry 
away flour or iron ore or lumber. 

229 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

If we were there in the winter it would be 
interesting to watch the boys on their skis. 
There is a high hill back of Duluth and down 
this the boys come with marvelous speed. Here, 
one time, a man made a jump of one hundred 
and seventeen feet on his skis ! 

We leave Duluth by steamer and sail across 
Lake Superior. This great lake is made up of 
the waters of more than two hundred streams 
and springs. The water is very cold and clear. 
It is August when we sail, and in the evening 
we see in the sky the Northern Lights, or the 
Aurora Borealis. Great flashes of light from 
the North are darting high into the heavens 
above us. One of the sailors tells us that this 
means that a storm is coming. As it rains the 
following day we recall what he said to us. 
When there is a storm the waters of Lake Su- 
perior become very rough. People are some- 
times seasick there who are not sick on the 
ocean. 

Our steamer goes into Portage Lake and then 
into wiiat is called Portage Entry. This is a 
cut which saves a long voyage around the north- 

230 



THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES 

ern part of Michigan, We stay a little while 
at Houghton, which is the center of many rich 
copper mines. 

After we resume our voyage our next stop 
is at Marquette, Michigan. This is a little city 
named for Pere Marquette, the devoted French 
missionary who came here many years ago. 
He worked among the Indians. At Marquette 
there is an imposing statue of this devoted man. 
There are great iron docks and wharves located 
here that also interest us. 

Not many miles below Marquette, as the day 
is clear, w^e all watch for the Pictured Rocks. 
These are great rocks about three hundred feet 
high. They extend five miles along the shore 
of Lake Superior. The storms of many cen- 
turies have worn these rocks into strange and 
fantastic forms. They are called "pictured," 
however, because of their bright colors. Yel- 
low, red, blue, green and brown can be plainly 
seen in the formations. 

Before we can pass into Lake Huron we must 
go through St. Mary's River, a stream so nar- 
row that in places our boat is close to the banks. 

231 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

In this river are the St, Mary's Rapids, to avoid 
which there is a wonderful ship canal. 

Many years ago the State of Michigan built 
what is called the Soo Ship Canal. That was 
very small, however, as it was only one hundred 
feet wide and twelve feet deep and had only two 
locks. 

Since then the United States has built new 
canals that have much larger locks. The lock 
in which our ship is raised has a lift of eighteen 
feet. It is about eight hundred feet long and 
is one hundred feet wide and nearly forty-five 
feet deep. We are surprised when we see that 
the locks can be filled and emptied in seven 
minutes. 

Do you know that every year the total ton- 
nage of the great cargoes carried through the 
Soo Canal is three times as large as that which 
goes through the Suez Canal? Grain, iron and 
lumber form the cargoes of most of the vessels 
that come here. 

As we have a little time to spare at Sault Ste. 
Marie, we go with an Indian in a canoe and 
shoot the rapids. This is an exciting experi- 

232 



THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES 

ence. The swift, tumbling waters are all about 
us. There is a roar that drowns the voices of 
our companions. Shooting the rapids is not 
very dangerous, however, although it might 
seem so to one who was watching us from the 
shore. 

We stop next at Mackinac Island. The water 
of Lake Huron is so clear and still as we ap- 
piT)ach the little wooded island, that its high, 
rocky shores are seen almost as clearly in the 
reflections in the lake as they are in the air. It 
is a most attractive spot. Not many people are 
here in the winter, but many spend their sum- 
mer vacations on the island. 

France claimed this island as far back as 1610. 
Her missionaries had discovered it in their jour- 
neys. Mackinac belonged to France for one 
hundred and fifty-one years, and then was ceded 
to Great Britain. It came into our possession 
in 1796. The British, however, took the island 
again in the War of 1812. At the close of that 
war it was again given back to the United 
States. 

To this place the old fur-traders used to come. 
233 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

The most famous of these was John Jacob 
Astor. 

We obtain a carriage and a guide to take us 
about the attractive little island. Its rocks, 
trees and caves are all interesting. The walls 
of the old fort are still standing. There are 
high points from which we can see far out over 
Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 

When we are passing the cemetery our guide 
tells us that the island is so healthy that they 
''had to shoot a few people in order to start a 
grave-yard." We think, however, that he has 
exaggerated. When we tell him so, he con- 
tinues, "It is true. We had to build a fence 
around the cemetery to keep the people in, even 
after we had shot them. It is veiy hard to die 
and stay dead in this wonderful place. ' ' 

"What food do you have in the winter?" in- 
quired one of our party. "It must be very 
bleak and deserted here then. ' ' 

"Our chief diet," soberly replied the guide, 
"is fried snowballs." 

The narrow waters we see near by are the 
Straits of Mackinac, which join Lake Huron 

234 



THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES 

and Lake Michigan. Our voyage, however, is 
to be continued on Lake Huron. 

After we have sailed through the Detroit and 
St. Clair Elvers, our next stop is Detroit. This 
is the largest city in Michigan and it is one of 
the most beautiful cities in the United States. 
Here, too, came the French as far back as 1670. 
Here, in 1701, Cadillac built a fort. Later, how- 
ever, the English gained control of Detroit. 
While they were masters of it, the great In- 
dian chief, Pontiac, carried on a war with them 
for more than a year. 

After the American Eevolution, Detroit be- 
came a part of the United States. But the 
British captured it again in 1812, although the 
Americans took it back in 1813. The people 
were very angry because General Hull, without 
trying to defend it, had surrendered the place to 
the British general, Brock. There is an old 
song in which the following stanza occurs : 

* ' Let William Hull be counted null, 
A coward and a traitor, 
For British gold his army sold, 
To Brock the speculator." 
235 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

To-day, in Detroit, the number of people rid- 
ing in automobiles is marvelous. Perhaps still 
more wonderful is the number of automobiles 
made there. There are also many other busy 
factories in which cars and car-wheels, adding 
machines, trucks and various kinds of iron 
goods are made. 

We learn that about thirty-five thousand ves- 
sels pass Detroit every year. And yet there are 
only about seven months in every year when 
navigation is open. 

Our next stop is Cleveland, Ohio. This is 
the largest city in the State and is located on 
Lake Erie. We have only a brief time here, 
so we secure an automobile and ride through 
the broad streets of the attractive city. The 
lawns in front of the houses are large and 
very green. There are so many trees along 
the sides of the streets that Cleveland has been 
called the Forest City. It is a very busy as 
well as a beautiful city. Iron factories and 
foundries and great machine shops employ 
many thousand men. It is not so old a city as 
Detroit. 

236 



THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES 

The final stop of our boat is Buffalo, on Lake 
Erie. This, too, is a large and busy city. It is 
also most attractive, for it has many wide 
streets, on the borders of which are rows of 
great shade trees. 

When we ask why the name of an animal was 
given to the city, we learn that here, many years 
ago, great herds of buffaloes gathered about the 
creek near where it entered Lake Erie. Do you 
know any other places in our countiy that have 
been named for animals I 

Very few people were living in Buffalo until 
1825, when the Erie Canal was built. Since that 
time the city has grown very fast, and, next to 
New York, it is the largest city in New York 
State. 

It is one of the busiest places in America. 
Lumber, coal, livestock and grain provide much 
of the business. The immense grain elevators 
can hold twenty-four million bushels of wheat at 
one time. About ten thousand boats come to or 
depart from Buft'alo every year. 

Delaware Avenue, on which there is a monu- 
ment of President McKinley, who was shot here 

237 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

in 1901, is one of the most beautiful streets in 
America. 

The only way we can go on by water from 
Buffalo into Lake Ontario is through the canals 
that have been dug. The Niagara River, with 
its great falls and rapids, cannot be used by 
boats. 

Together, the five Great Lakes form a won- 
derful body of fresh water. We are not sur- 
prised that they have been called the '' inland 
seas. ' ' The thousands of boats that go back and 
forth upon them ; the grain, iron and lumber that 
are carried over their waters, and, most of all, 
the many enterprising cities on their shores, all 
make us proud of the fact that, in part at least, 
these great bodies of fresh water belong to the 
United States of America, Do you know what 
cities are located on the shores of these lakes ? 



CHAPTER XXIII 

NIAGARA FALLS 

NIAGARA is an Indian word, which means 
Thunder of Waters. The name is given to 
the Falls and also to the short river through 
which the waters of Lake Superior, Lake Michi- 
gan, Lake Huron and Lake Erie are all poured 
into Lake Ontario. Later, these same cold, 
clear waters, find their way through the St. Law- 
rence River into the Atlantic Ocean beyond. 

The short Niagara River is the outlet for the 
largest bodies of fresh water in the world. In 
many places it is very swift. Two miles after it 
leaves Lake Erie the current is very strong. 
Then the waters become more quiet and the 
channel soon becomes broader. 

The river is divided into parts by Grand 
Island. Just below this island the river is about 
two and one-half miles wide. 

239 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

When the waters have come about fifteen miles 
from Lake Erie, the stream becomes narrow 
once more. Because of this narrowness and 
the steep descent, the current again grows 
swift. 

As the river speeds on the current becomes 
still swifter. One-half mile or more above Ni- 
agara Falls it is running like the waters of a 
mill-race. The bed of the stream descends fifty 
feet in this short distance. Just before the 
river takes its final and great leap at the Falls 
of Niagara, there is a sharp bend in the stream 
and the channel is divided by Goat Island. On 
the right are the American Falls and on the 
left are the Canadian, or as they are sometimes 
called, the Horseshoe Falls. 

When we come to the place where we can look 
at this wonderful sight, we understand the mean- 
ing of the roar which we heard far away. Long- 
before we have seen the cataract, we have no- 
ticed the clouds of spray that have been rising 
high above the river. 

It is hard for us to realize that the American 
Falls are one hundred and sixty-seven feet high, 

240 



NIAGARA FALLS 

and that the stream here is one thousand feet in 
width. 

The Horseshoe, or Canadian, Falls are one 
hundred and fifty-eight feet high and have a 
width of twenty-five hundred feet. Some one 
has reckoned that one cubic mile of water pours 
over these falls every week and that only one- 
tenth of the amount is in the American Falls. 

It is said there was a tradition, many years 
ago, among the Indians that dwelt here that the 
Falls of Niagara required two human victims 
every year. Doubtless many more than that 
number have perished in these awful waters. 
Fancy how one would feel if he was swimming 
in the stream above the falls and was caught by 
the current, as many have been, and swept for- 
ward over the cataract! 

There is a deep basin into which the tumbling 
waters fall. Over this in very cold winters the 
famous ice-bridge forms. 

What is called the Gorge begins at this basin. 
Through it the waters are carried swiftly for- 
ward on their way to Lake Ontario. In this 
Gorge are the Whirlpool Rapids. In many 

241 



PLACES YOUNG AMEEICANS AVANT TO KNOW 

places where the Gorge becomes narrower, the 
wild tossing, foaming waters are driven onward 
with almost incredible speed. 

Before we take a ride on the trolley car, which 
carries us along the American side of the Gorge 
to return on the Canadian side, a few members 
of our party go to the Cave of the Winds. This 
weird place is almost directly beneath the 
Falls. 

Some of our friends were wise enough to ob- 
tain a change of clothing at the office, where a 
guide joined the party. They tell us how they 
went down the steps and followed the path along 
the cliffs. Several of them soon lost their cour- 
age and turned back. Others, however, kept on, 
and, after crossing many small bridges among 
the rocks, where they were drenched with spray 
and the wind and the water combined to make a 
deafening roar, they followed the guide as he 
led them through the Cave of the Winds. They 
told us that even the strongest grasped the hands 
of their friends when they were conducted along 
a narrow ledge, with a high, straight wall of 
rock directly below them on one side, while be- 

242 



NIAGAKA FALLS 

hind tliem was tlie ceaseless and awful roar of 
the great Falls. 

Nearly every visitor goes to Table Rock, a 
point from which perhaps the grandest of all the 
views of the Horseshoe Falls is obtained. If 
we are here in the afternoon we shall see many 
rainbows that are formed in the spray. We can 
scarcely hear when our companions speak to us, 
because the thunder of the water is unceasing. 

Some of our friends are afraid to take the trip 
in the little steamer. The Maid of the Mist, 
which is able to go up the stream nearly to the 
foot of Horseshoe Falls. There are those who 
say that the view of the Falls from the steamer 
is even better than it is from Table Rock. 

We are greatly impressed by the Suspension 
and Cantilever bridges, over which railway 
trains pass high above the river. One of these 
bridges is two hundred and forty-five feet above 
the water and another is about twelve hundred 
feet long. 

The impression which the Whirlpool Rapids 
makes upon us when we go down the inclined 
railway is almost as great as that of the Falls. 
17 243 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

We shall never forget the roaring and plunging 
of the great mass of water, driven into a narrow 
little channel by the power of all the lakes be- 
hind it. There are many rocks in the bed of the 
stream and the channel is only three hundred 
feet wide. It is a sight we shall always remem- 
ber. Strange as it may seem, the center of the 
river here is higher than the water on either 
shore. Can you explain why that is sol 

The Whirlpool is just about a mile below the 
railway bridge. The swift waters there are 
driven with great force against the cliffs on the 
left bank of the stream. There is therefore a 
sudden bend in the course of the river and the 
result is this Whirlpool. Some one has said that 
''the waters of the lake steal out of the "Wliirl- 
pool as if they were drunk and wild, and then go 
brawling on their way to Lake Ontario." 

It is said that every year 700,000 people visit 
Niagara Falls. 

While we are there we visit also many nearby 
places of historic interest. 

At Queenston, we see the heights on which the 
British, one time in the War of 1812, were sta- 

244 



NIAGARA FALLS 

tioned, while the American army was on the op- 
posite shore of the Niagara River. It was only 
a small band of American soldiers, however, 
that could be persuaded to cross. Of the thou- 
sand that did so nearly all were killed or cap- 
tured. 

Another place, not far away, is Lundy's Lane, 
or Bridgewater, where, in the War of 1812, a 
battle was fought between the Americans and 
the British. It was one of the most stubborn 
battles of that w\ar. The fight began at sunset 
and lasted until midnight. General Brown and 
General Winfield Scott, American officers, were 
both wounded that day. The following morn- 
ing General Ripley ordered the Americans to 
withdraw to Fort Erie, at the head of Niagara 
River. 

The British also suffered severely, as they 
had lost their commander and had been driven 
some distance from the field. 

It was in the Battle of Lundy's Lane that 
Colonel James Miller was asked if he could cap- 
ture the cannon of the British. He quietly re- 
plied, *'I will try, sir." He led his soldiers in 

245 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

one of the most brilliant and successful charges 
of the war. Some of us say that if we cannot 
remember the name of the battle, we shall not 
forget the three words of Colonel Miller. They 
mean as much as any words in the English lan- 
guage. 

Recently the United States and Canada have 
permitted water to be drawn from Niagara to 
provide power by which busy mills are run and 
trolley cars are driven. In all, the right to ob- 
tain 750,000 horse-power has been granted. 
Thus far the grandeur of the Falls does not 
seem to have been affected by the long canals 
and flumes. 

A visit to one of these immense power-houses 
is most interesting. There are great intake 
canals and huge penstocks (inlet pipes), great 
wheel-pits and many other wonderful sights to 
be seen. 

It is interesting also to visit the Natural Food 
Conservatory, where we see not only many va- 
rieties of food made from grains, but we see also 
the great marble bathrooms and huge halls and 
dining-room which are for the use of the people 

246 



NIAGARA FALLS 

who work in the factory. All these are in the 
City of Niagara Falls. 

In 1885, Prospect Park and Goat Island, to- 
gether with one hundred and seven acres, were 
opened as the New York State Eeservation at 
Niagara. 

On the opposite shore, all the way from Lake 
Erie to Lake Ontario, Canada has reserved 
Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park. This great 
park covers seven hundred and eighty-seven 
acres. 

We all hope nothing ever will be done to mar 
the grandeur of Niagara Falls. It is one of the 
most wonderful sights in all the world. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

TRAVELERS wlio have been all around 
the world say that they have found no more 
beautiful spot than the Thousand Islands of the 
St. Lawrence River. 

The waters of Lake Ontario empty into the 
majestic St. Lawrence. Just where the lake 
ends and the river begins it is difficult to say. 
Cape Vincent, in New York, and Kingston, in 
Canada, however, are the two places on the map 
which mark the beginning of the river. 

It is fifteen miles directly across the river be- 
tween these two places. The river becomes 
more narrow in places until it is near the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence. Then it is wide again. 

Soon after we depart from Kingston on a 
steamboat we see some of the first of the Thou- 
sand Islands. Instead of being one thousand 

248 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

of these islands, there really are about eighteen 
hundred. Certain of them are each several 
miles long, while others are tiny little islets that 
rise just above the surface of the water. There 
is quite a strong current in the river. We no- 
tice it particularly as the waters of the chan- 
nel sweep past the lower ends of these tiny 
islands. 

As we go on, we find the number and beauty 
of the islands increasing. Some of them belong 
to the United States and others to Canada. The 
most beautiful islands, however, are on the 
Canadian side of the river. 

We notice that many of the islands are 
wooded. Others have rocky and high shores. 
On some we see farms. It is interesting to 
know how the farmers cross the river in winter. 
They have little iceboats. These boats have 
sharp runners as well as sails. When the swift 
waters freeze, in places ''air holes" are left 
and in others the ice is quite thin. 

The little boat sweeps along with the speed 
of the wind. Suddenly it may dart over the 
edge of the ice and strike the open water in 

249 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

some big air hole, or it may crash through the 
thin layer of ice that covers some very swift 
water. The boat is so made that when either 
event occurs, it keeps its balance when it strikes 
the water, and then the sailor quickly becomes 
an oarsman until he has gained the strong ice 
again, when once more he hoists his sail and 
speeds away. 

The channel, which we are following, leads in 
and out among the myriad islands. It would be 
very easy for us to lose our way if we were sail- 
ing or rowing here alone. In some places the 
channel passes so close to an island that we 
might step on shore if we wished. 

We see some mammoth hotels, most of which 
are built on islands, though a few of them are on 
the mainland shore. We pass many summer 
homes. These vary from the tiny little tents to 
the great palaces which have been built on the 
islands near Alexandria Bay. 

Every one we see is having a good time. 
Even the little boats we meet blow blasts with 
their whistles to say, ''Good morning," when 
they pass us. The deep-toned, heavy whistle 

250 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

of the steamboat on which we are riding sends 
forth its polite response. 

We meet many beautiful .yachts. Some of 
these yachts belong in New York City and have 
come to this region by either of two ways. I 
wonder if you can tell how a yacht might be 
brought from New York City to the Thousand 
Islands of the St. Lawrence! 

On an island at our left we see a camp. There 
are many tents in it and scores of canoes have 
been drawn up on the shore. A canoe club 
which comes here every summer is here now for 
its annual "meet." We are interested in a race 
between three canoes paddled by girls. Not far 
away are other canoes with a little sail in each. 

There are also scores of skiffs within sight. 
What graceful little boats they are. The St. 
Lawrence skiffs have become known far and 
wide for their strength and lightness. Two 
boys are sailing one that is quite near us. They 
do not have any rudder, but steer the little craft 
by frequently changing their positions in it. 

Not only do great steamboats go down the 
St. Lawrence, and more motor boats than can 

251 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

be found anywhere else in America, but quite 
often house boats are seen. In a shady cove one 
of these boats is now drawn up on the shore. It 
is fitted out with living-rooms. A family is liv- 
ing on board, taking their summer outing in this 
way. An awning is spread over the upper deck 
and the members of the family are seated about 
a table. 

On a rocky shoal near by we see several skiffs 
in which men are trolling. They catch perch, 
bass and pickerel. Occasionally a fisherman 
gets a great muskalong. Sometimes one of 
these huge fish is caught which weighs sixty 
pounds, or even more. 

The guides are skillful cooks as well as fish- 
ermen. When the noon hour comes they land 
on some little wooded island. There they pre- 
pare and cook the fish they have caught, as 
well as the other food which the guides have 
brought. 

We pass several parks, so called, where there 
are many cottages and people. In places here 
the river is swift. We are told, however, that 
when we come to the rapids of the St. Lawrence 

252 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

we shall find tlicm very different from the rifts 
in the water that we now see. 

Farther down the river there are more large 
islands. Frequently in the stream now we no- 
tice little eddies or whirlpools. 

Our boat does not stop at every landing on 
the American side. Because this steamer is a 
Canadian boat that carries passengers it is pre- 
vented by law from stopping at two American 
ports in succession. 

We have already noticed numerous "whale- 
backs." These are long boats, in shape not un- 
like canal boats, though they are higher. They 
have come all the way from Duluth and are car- 
rying their cargoes of wheat to Quebec. A lit- 
tle while after w^e pass Ogdensburg, we notice 
that the current is becoming much swifter. 

Soon we come to the Galoups Rapids. The 
river here is still quite mild, as it is also in the 
Rapide Plat, about five miles farther on. But 
the current is too SAvift for boats to come up 
stream, so canals have been built for their 
use. 

The first great rapids are the Long Sault. 
253 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Long before we come to them the eddies and 
whirlpools in the river are much more frequent 
than they have been in the early part of our voy- 
age. 

Very soon the roar of the Long Sault is heard 
in the distance. Then the spray and the angry 
tossing waves become visible. The sight of the 
foaming, tossing waves alarms some of our 
party, but there really is not much danger for 
big boats in shooting these rapids. 

The steamer seems to be dropping, somewhat 
as a man steps down a stairway. There is a 
thrill as we see that we are now in the power of 
the rushing current. These rapids continue for 
nine miles. The waters are in a tumult most of 
the way. 

When boats come up the St. Lawrence they 
pass near here through the Cornwall Canal, on 
the Canadian side, and thus avoid the Long 
Sault Rapids. 

In numerous little pens along the shore, stur- 
geon are kept which have forced their way up the 
swift river. They have been caught by men 
standing on frail little piers that extend from 

254 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

the shores many feet into the river. Some of 
these sturgeon are ten or more feet long. 

A part of the Little Long Sault, as the rapids 
on our right are called, has been turned into a 
great power canal. This extends a few miles 
inland to the village of Massena, in New York, 
and then through a little river, the water once 
more enters the St. Lawrence. The power thus 
gained is used to provide electricity and to turn 
the wheels of busy mills. 

Near the foot of the Long Sault Rapids is the 
Indian village of St. Regis. Many of these In- 
dians use the French language. Far away to 
our right is the faint outline of the Adirondack 
Mountains. 

Soon our boat is crossing Lake St. Francis. 
This and Lake St. Louis, several miles below, 
are really not lakes at all. They are merely 
places where the St. Lawrence River spreads 
out or enlarges. Lake St. Francis is twenty- 
eight miles long and about seven miles wide. 

Soon we are passing through more rapids, the 
most interesting of which is Cedar. Near here, 
too, Canada has built a canal fourteen miles 

255 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

long, which boats use when they go up the 
stream. 

The little village of St. Anne, not far away, is 
the place where the poet, Tom Moore, laid the 
scene of his poem, the "Canadian Boat Song." 

Soon we come to the La Chine Rapids. These 
are only three miles long, but they are the swift- 
est of all the rapids in the St. Lawrence. Years 
ago, before a steamboat started dow^n the La 
Chine Rapids, it stojiped to take on board an old 
Indian pilot, who guided it through the rushing 
waters. This is not done now. 

At first it seems to us that we surely must 
strike the long, jutting point of rock directly in 
front of us. But the current is so strong that it 
sweeps our great boat safely around the point 
of danger and soon we are again in quiet waters. 

As the St. Lawrence goes on its way to the 
sea it soon passes Montreal, the leading city of 
Canada. The river here is still six hundred and 
twenty-five miles from the Atlantic Ocean. 

The early name of Montreal was Mount 
Royal. This now is the name of a high hill in 
the city which rises nine hundred feet above the 

256 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

level of the sea. On its top is an extensive 
park. Many beautiful residential streets are on 
the sides of Mount Royal. Down on the plain 
below are the business sections of the city. The 
church of Notre Dame seats 10,000 people. It 
has the largest bell in America. There are 
many other imposing buildings in the city. 

Jacques Cartier came here in 1535, sixty-eight 
years before the coming of Champlain, who 
founded and named the place. 

One hundred and forty-five miles farther 
down the St. Lawrence is Quebec. This has 
been called the most picturesquely located city 
of the new world. It has also been called the 
American Gibraltar. 

The great citadel that covers forty acres on 
the summit of Cape Diamond looks very forbid- 
ding. When we go there we have one of the 
most impressive views we have ever seen. The 
upper town is built about the citadel and here, 
too, are public buildings, churches, gardens and 
many beautiful residences. The lower town is 
built around the foot of Cape Diamond. This 
is the place where the warehouses and wharves 

257 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANIT TO KNOW 

line the banks of tlie St. Lawrence and tlie St. 
Charles Elvers. 

The Houses of Parliament, City Hall, the 
Convent of the Franciscans, the Champlain 
Hospital are all interesting. The church of 
Notre Dame was built in 1688. It is one of the 
oldest churches in America. 

Immense quantities of lumber, grain and cop- 
per are sent down the St. Lawrence from Quebec 
every year. 

From the time when Jacques Cartier first 
started up the St. Lawrence, until 1759, there 
was a struggle between the French and the Eng- 
lish as to who should possess the place. 

Louis of France hoped to establish a New 
France in America. To do this he must keep 
out the English. But the English did not want 
to be kept out, and consequently there was a long 
war between the two nations. In a battle on 
the heights above Quebec, which are called the 
Plains of Abraham, at last the English won. 
The story of the death of Wolf, the brave young 
leader of the British troops in this battle, is 
known to all. It was in 1760, when Quebec, 

258 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

with the rest of Canada, was ceded to England. 

In the War of the Revolution the Americans 
tried to take Quebec, but were badly defeated in 
their attempt. Benedict Arnold had led a force 
of the fearless colonial soldiers from Cambridge 
through the wilderness of Maine to this place. 
Others came down the St. Lawrence by the way 
of Montreal to join him. The men were very 
brave, but they were not able to take Quebec. 
Perhaps the death of General Montgomery and 
the wounding of Benedict Arnold somewhat dis- 
couraged the soldiers. At all events they did 
not succeed. 

Large boats that cross the ocean can come up 
the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal. 

Not long after the St. Lawrence leaves Que- 
bec it pours its waters into the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence. I wonder if you can tell how far we have 
come in sailing from Duluth, through the great 
lakes, down the St. Lawrence River, through the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Atlantic Ocean? 



18 



CHAPTER XXV 

LAKE GEORGE 

ONE of the most historic and attractive 
spots in America is Lake George, on the 
eastern border of New York. Many years ago 
the Indians called the little sheet of water, "The 
place where the lake closes." It had another 
Indian name also which means Silvery Waters. 
The present name was given it in honor of King- 
George II of England. Every visitor thinks it 
is one of the most interesting places he has ever 
seen. 

Not far away are the Adirondack Mountains. 
Along the shores are high hills covered with 
trees. In the lake are many small islands of 
great beauty. In some places along the shores 
one can see great cliffs and crags, about some 
of which stirring stories are told of the daring 
deeds of the Indians and the whites who lived 
here many years ago. 

260 



LAKE GEORGE 

Wlien one leaves the train at the station of 
Lake George, at the head of the lake, he sees 
not far away a great hotel. This hotel stands 
on the spot where old Fort William Henry stood 
when the English huilt it in 1755. Two years 
after it was built, the French General, Mont- 
calm, with his army of eight thousand soldiers, 
took it from the English. The story of how fif- 
teen hundred helpless men, women and children 
were killed by the Indians with Montcalm has 
often been told. 

About two miles from the village of Lake 
George is Williams Rock. It is a boulder which 
marks the spot where Colonel Ephraim Wil- 
liams (the founder of Williams College) was 
killed, and twelve hundred men with him were 
defeated by the French and their Indian allies. 
That was in 1755. Not far away is Bloody 
Pond, into which the Indians threw the bodies 
of the slain. Not more than a half-mile distant 
are the ruins of old Fort George, which was 
erected just a little while after Fort William 
Henry was built. 

Soon after our arrival at Lake George we are 
261 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

on the deck of a little steamer which will take us 
almost the entire length of the lake — thirty- 
three miles. 

The bright skies, the soft air, the many little 
islands (two hundred and twenty), the tiny 
power-boats, canoes and sail-boats, all make the 
scene very stirring and inspiring if one comes 
here in the summertime. 

There are numerous summer hotels on the 
islands or along the shore. Among the trees 
you can see many camps where the young people 
seem to be having a fine time. 

The waters of the lake are so clear and you 
can see so plainly in them the reflection of the 
trees that it is hard to tell just where the shore 
begins. 

The first w^hite men that ever saw Lake 
George were three Frenchmen whom the In- 
dians brought here as prisoners. Among the 
captives was Father Jogues, who named the 
little lake Lac du St. Sacrement. 

Lake George empties into Lake Champlain. 
There is a little ridge of land about four miles 
long between the lakes. 

262 



LAKE GEORGE 

The northern lake is slightly lower than Lake 
George. Lake Champlain is also longer than its 
sister lake, as it is one hundred and eighteen 
miles in length. In certain places it is so nar- 
row that it is only one-quarter of a mile from 
shore to shore. In other places, however, the 
lake is twelve miles wide. 

There are high hills around this lake also, but 
they lie a little farther back from the shore than 
do the mountains around Lake George. There 
are islands, too, fifty of them, in Lake Cham- 
plain. The eastern shore is mostly in Vermont 
and the western shore is in New York. Far to 
the east you see the Green Mountains of Ver- 
mont. 

Lake Champlain pours its waters into the lit- 
tle river Richelieu, which in turn empties into 
the mighty St. Lawrence. 

Samuel de Champlain, when he was Governor 
of Canada, discovered this lake in 1609. Its In- 
dian name was Caniaderi Quaranti. It is easier 
to tell what these words mean — ''The Gate of 
the Land" — than it is to pronounce them. 
There are many interesting and beautiful places 

263 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

at which our steamer stops. The same good 
time seems to be had by all the people we see on 
the shores. 

Both these lakes were very important in the 
early history of our country, because they were 
a part of the route by which people went back 
and forth from the English Colonies to Canada. 
For almost one hundred and fifty years the 
French and English fought to see who should 
control them. 

Fort Ticonderoga is on the shore of the 
stream that joins the two lakes at the foot of 
Mount Defiance. The French first built a fort 
here which they called Fort Carillon. That was 
in 1755. Three years after it was built the Eng- 
lish tried to capture it, but they failed and were 
compelled to retreat up Lake George after they 
had lost two thousand men. 

The next year the French fled from the fort, 
when Lord Amherst and his English soldiers 
captured it and changed its name to Fort Ticon- 
deroga. 

In 1775, just a little while before the Declara- 
tion of Independence, Colonel Ethan Allen and 

264 



LAKE GEORGE 

liis soldiers, who were called the Green Moun- 
tain Boys, came to the fort one night and sur- 
prised the commander by telling him that he and 
his men must surrender. 

The captain did not even know there was any 
war at the time, and when he inquired to whom 
he must surrender, Ethan Allen shouted in re- 
ply, ' ' In the name of the Great Jehovah and the 
Continental Congress." 

In 1777, in the Revolutionary War, General 
Burgoyne came up the lake with his great army 
of redcoats and Indians. There were hundreds 
of little boats in the fleet in which the redcoated 
soldiers w^ere carried and many hundreds of 
canoes, filled with Indian warriors who were 
helping the general. What a stirring sight the 
old fort must have seen when all these boats at 
the same time were on the waters of the lake in 
front of it. 

General Burgoyne captured the fort because 
his soldiers dragged their cannon up the steep 
sides to the top of Mount Defiance near by, 
where the American General, St. Clair, did not 
believe ''anything but a goat" would be able to 

265 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

go. Are you surprised that St. Clair was de- 
feated! 

General Burgoyne, although he took the fort, 
was not able to hold it very long. A few weeks 
later he was defeated in the Battle of Saratoga, 
October 17, 1777, and all his soldiers were made 
prisoners by the Americans. 

Later, old Fort Ticonderoga became almost a 
ruin, but recently it has been rebuilt and re- 
stored. 

If you go there to-day you will see it almost as 
it was when Colonel Ethan Allen captured it at 
a time when there was no war. 

You may stop also at Plattsburg, on Lake 
Champlain, near which a battle on the lake was 
fought between the English and American sail- 
ors, September 11, 1814. The battle lasted two 
hours and then Captain Macdonough, the young 
American commander of the American fleet, sent 
to Washington a dispatch which brought joy to 
the hearts of all Americans: "The Almighty 
has been pleased to grant us a signal victory on 
Lake Champlain in the capture of one frigate, 
one brig, and two sloojos-of-war of the enemy." 

266 



LAKE GEORGE 

To-day when one sees these beautiful lakes 
and along their shores finds prosperous farms 
and thriving villages, as well as many places 
where people have come to spend the summer 
days, it is hard to realize what stirring scenes 
were enacted here when the French and English 
and their Indian allies were fighting for the con- 
trol of the region. 

Not many years passed, however, before 
neither the French nor the English owned I^ake 
George and Lake Champlain. The beautiful 
and historic little lakes became a part of the 
United States. We hope both famous waters, 
one of which the Indians called ''Silvery Wa- 
ters," and the other the "Waters That Lie Be- 
tween," will be a part of the United States for- 
ever. 



CHAPTEK XXVI 

"WHERE ROLLS THE OREGON" 

ONE of the great rivers of North America 
is the Columbia, which is sometimes called 
the Oregon. Its clear, cold, rushing waters are 
not all within the boundaries of the United 
States. 

It rises far up in British Columbia among the 
Kocky Mountains. In its course southward 
other great rivers join it. The largest of these 
are the Clark Fork and the Snake. 

As the Columbia goes on still farther, its di- 
rection changes until it is on the southern bor- 
der of the State of Washington. Then once 
more it turns toward the west, until at last it 
reaches the Pacific Ocean, near Astoria, Oregon. 
Part of the way it forms the boundary between 
Oregon and Washington. 

The majestic river is fourteen hundred miles 
268 



"WHERE ROLLS THE OREGON" 

long. What a great body of water to keep 
steadily on its way every year ! The stream, if 
it started at Lincoln, Nebraska, would reach all 
the way to New York City. 

After the little river, for it is small near its 
source, begins its course among the northern 
mountains, it passes a variety of beautiful 
sights. There are mighty forests to be seen 
and fertile farms and stretches of land that are 
almost desert. At last, its waters flow past 
places where men are busily at work ; for in the 
lower part of its course there are thriving towns 
and great cities. 

The lofty Cascade Range of mountains ex- 
tends through Oregon and Washington from 
north to south. The country bordering on the 
Columbia east of the Cascades is dry and there 
are few people living in the region. West of 
that range there is more rain. This part con- 
tains more inhabitants than the eastern. What 
do you think causes this difference? 

Captain Robert Gray first found this mighty 
river in 1792, 

What was vaguely known at that time as the 
269 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

''Oregon Country" included the present States 
of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In 1804-5, 
President Jefferson sent a land expedition un- 
der Lewis and Clark to explore this region, in 
addition to that which borders on the upper Mis- 
souri River. 

The United States then claimed this entire re- 
gion, affirming that it was a part of the Louisi- 
ana Purchase, and also that it belonged to her 
because her citizens had explored it. Later, 
Great Britain denied both these claims and said 
the country was hers, although she could not 
give any good reason for her demand. It may 
be that the claim of the United States was not 
very strong, but that of Great Britain was still 
weaker. The two countries did not agree in the 
matter until 1846, Then the claim of the United 
States was allowed to stand. 

Astoria, the little city near the mouth of the 
Columbia, was famous years ago as a center of 
the fur trade. John Jacob Astor used to come 
there when he was a fur-trader, and now the 
place has his name as a part of the name of the 
city. 

270 



"WHERE ROLLS TPIE OREGON" 

Just north of the city of Portland the Colum- 
bia is joined by the Willamette. From that 
place to the Pacific Ocean there are many boats 
on the river. 

Portland is one of the most attractive places 
in our land. It is also a very wealthy city. It 
manufactures large quantities of pig iron, flour, 
furniture and other goods. Immense loads of 
wheat, lumber, flour, wool and fish are shipped 
here every year. From the city go boats to San 
Francisco, Puget Sound, British Columbia, 
China, Japan, Alaska, South America, New 
York and Great Britain. On the shores of the 
Willamette there are long rows of boats, ware- 
houses and sawmills. 

Sometimes Portland is called the Eose City, 
because the roses there are more beautiful than 
in any other part of our country. Every year, 
early in June, a Eose Festival is held. The 
automobiles in the procession are trimmed with 
roses and there are bands of boys and girls, all 
carrying great quantities of the gorgeous flo-w- 
ers. 

From the park, on the western side of the city, 
271 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

we can see plainly Mount Hood, sixty-six miles 
away. We see also Mount Adams, wliicli lifts 
its white-capped summit 12,470 feet into the air. 
It is one of the highest peaks of the Cascade 
Mountains. If the day is unusually clear we 
can see even Mount Rainier, which is not far 
from Tacoma, in Washington. 

If we desire, we can go on a steamboat from 
Portland up the Columbia River as far as The 
Dalles of the Columbia. The word Dalles is de- 
rived from the name of the beds of lava which 
can be seen near the place. It is one of the most 
beautiful rides we have ever taken. We see 
great mountains not far from and all along the 
shores. Parts of the country remind us of the 
Highlands of the Hudson or the Berkshires of 
New England, only they are much higher and 
bolder. 

Many boats, which have paddle-wheels in the 
stern, like those we have seen on the Ohio and 
the Mississippi Rivers, are within sight. The 
river is swift in many places. There are fre- 
quent rapids and many islands. 

Very soon we come to cascades. Here great 
272 



''WHERE ROLLS THE OREGON" 

wheels and "runs" have been built in the river 
to catch the salmon as the fish make their way, 
or ' ' run, ' ' against the swift current. There are 
times when the fish are very plentiful. 

Many men are engaged in catching salmon. A 
college boy, whose home is in Oregon, told us 
that he had paid his way through college in this 
way. He received five cents per pound. 

As we go on, we notice marked changes in the 
shore. Now we see many barren stretches of 
sand, where walls have been built to keep the 
sand from heaping up on the tracks of the rail- 
road which are close to the banks. While we 
are here there is a sandstorm. The air is filled 
with tiny particles of sand, just as in other parts 
of the country it is filled with raindrops in a 
storm. 

"VVe frequently notice, too, long rows of poplar 
trees. These have been planted to break the 
force of the great winds that sometimes blow. 
Certain parts of this sandy land have been irri- 
gated and cultivated. Many peach trees and 
berry bushes are growing in the numerous or- 
chards or gardens. 

273 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

Oregon is a very rich State. In parts of it, 
where the great apple orchards are found, land 
sometimes is sold as high as $4,000 per acre. 
Even here on the sandy stretches we overhear a 
man say that this land is good for sheep. We 
do not see upon what the sheep can feed. How- 
ever, when by irrigation the water is brought 
into the arid land the soil becomes very fertile. 

We are interested in the many sawmills on the 
shores and in the logs which we see floating down 
the river. We remember that in Portland we 
were told that sometimes 650,000,000 feet of 
lumber are cut there in one year. 

The swift waters of the Columbia prevent the 
large boats from going above The Dalles. 
Smaller boats, however, can go as far as two 
hundred miles above that place, but then the 
rapids prevent tliem from going any farther. 

The Columbia River with its SMaft, clear wa- 
ters; its shores close to lofty mountains; its 
fishing and commerce, and the cities it passes on 
its way to the sea, is not only one of the largest 
but it is also one of the most beautiful of the 
rivers of the world. 

274 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE SKYSCRAPERS 

THE highest buildings in the world are in 
New York City. It is true that the Eiffel 
Tower in Paris is still higher than any of them, 
as it reaches nine hundred and eighty-four feet 
up into the air. But this tower is only an iron 
and steel frame structure. It can hardly be 
called a ''building," such as the skyscrapers of 
New York are. 

These great structures are famous all over the 
world. An Austrian woman coming into the 
harbor of New York for the first time, said 
eagerly, "I wish most to see the Singer House." 

''Do you mean the Opera House?" inquired 
an American friend. 

"No, no," she replied. "I wish much to see 
the Singer House." 

In a moment it was plain that the building she 
19 275 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

wanted to see was the imposing structure of the 
Singer Sewing Machine Company. At that 
time it was the highest building in New York. 

When one stands on the street and looks up 
at these giant towers they seem so high that they 
do indeed appear almost to ' ' scrape the sky. ' ' 

Most of these huge structures are in the lower 
part of the city. When we walk along the 
streets below them and look up at their towering 
sides, we are reminded of the steep, narrow 
canons among the lofty mountains of the West. 

Sometimes visitors have foretold the calamity 
which would surely take place in New York City 
if an earthquake should shake these vast struc- 
tures to the ground. As the city is built upon 
a granite foundation there is not much danger 
of this. Earthquakes do not often occur where 
granite rock forms the crust of the earth. 

Others have said that before long the health of 
the people of New l^ork will be affected by these 
tall buildings, because it is impossible for the 
sunlight to enter the narrow streets between 
these skyscrapers. In many buildings electric 
lights must be used throughout the day, no mat- 

276 



THE SKYSCRAPERS 

ter how clear and bright the day may be. Per- 
haps in time this fear may be realized. 

Why does New York have such high build- 
ings? 

There are two reasons. One of these is that 
Manhattan Island is very narrow. In the busi- 
ness parts of the city there is not very much 
ground on which buildings can be erected. In 
order to meet this condition these lofty struc- 
tures, containing many floors and offices, have 
been built. 

Then, too, perhaps when one building has be- 
come known as "the highest in the world," other 
people try to surpass the record when they erect 
a new building. 

The result of erecting so many of these sky- 
scrapers has been to make the skyline of New 
York quite irregular. In many cities in Europe 
the buildings are of uniform height. There the 
skyline is not broken. 

One time we asked a young artist, who was 
coming home to New York after he had spent 
four years in study in Paris, what he thought of 
the skyline of New York when first we were able 

277 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

to see it as we sailed up tlie bay. *'Is it artis- 
tic?" we inquired. 

' ' Yes, yes, ' ' he replied quickly. ' ' I have been 
in Paris so long that the deformity of the uni- 
formity of its skyline has become monotonous to 
me. The line here is uneven, but that is the way 
in which nature works. Wliat would one think 
of the Rocky Mountains if there was no peak 
higher than any others 1 How would the Sierras 
impress one if they all stood out evenly against 
the sky? New York's skyline is like that of a 
mountain range." 

How high are these buildings? We cannot 
answer the question by describing them all, but it 
will be interesting to know that the Woolworth 
Building, for example, rises seven hundred and 
ninety-two feet and one inch above the sidewalk. 
If the sub-basement floor, which is below the 
level of the street, is included, and also the 
caissons upon which the building rests that ex- 
tend one hundred and fifteen feet down to bed- 
rock, the giant structure is really nine hundred 
and thirteen feet high. This is almost as tall as 
the Eiffel Tower. 

278 




A Skyscraper. The Woolworth Building, New York 



THE SKYSCRAPERS 

Scientists say that the Tower of Babel was 
six hundred and eighty feet high when the menj 
who were buihling it, gave up their task because 
they could no longer understand one another. 

Perhaps you will get some idea of what this 
immense structure is if you are told that it con- 
tains sixty stories or floors. The floor space in 
it covers forty acres. It has eighty thousand 
electric lights and twenty-eight elevators. If all 
its elevator shafts could be strung together they 
would be two miles long. If the plumbing in the 
building could be made into one long pipe it 
would be forty-three miles in length. The elec- 
tric wires would extend from New York to Phil- 
adelphia, a distance of about ninety miles. 

In the walls of the building there are 17,000,- 
000 bricks. With these you could pave a road 
thirty feet wide and eleven miles long. 

This huge building weighs 206,000,000 pounds. 
When a strong wind blows, its pressure adds 
40,000,000 pounds to its weight. It has been so 
built, however, that it is able to resist a wind 
pressure of two hundred and fifty miles an hour. 

The three thousand windows of this building, 
279 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

if they were all placed on the ground adjoining 
one another, would cover nearly one and one- 
half acres. There is just as much glass inside 
the huge structure as there is on the outside. 
There is no wood in the entire building. The 
doors are all made of steel, terra cotta and wire 
glass. Ten thousand people at the same time 
may have their offices in this one building. 

The view from the tower of this building, or 
from that of the Metropolitan Building, which 
is seven hundred feet high, is one you never will 
forget. Below you stretches the vast city. The 
streets and avenues look almost like threads. 
On the sidewalks the moving people appear to be 
not much larger than mice. Far below us are 
the steeples of the churches and the towers of 
many other giant buildings. 

It may heli^ you to understand how high these 
buildings in New York are if you read the fol- 
lowing table : 

Height of the World's Famous Buildings 

Feet 

Pantheon, Rome, 150 

St. Sophia, Constantinople -. 200 

280 



THE SKYSCRAPERS 

Feet 

Campanile, Venice 325 

Giralda, Seville 350 

St. Isaac 's, Petrograd 365 

St. Peter's, Rome 400 

Cathedral, Salisbury, England 400 

St. Stephen 's, Vienna 450 

Pyramid, Egypt 485 

Cathedral, Rouen, France 490 

Cathedral, Colon 519 

Philadelphia, City Hall 537 

Washington Monument 555 

In contrast with such liigli structures, the 
height of a few of the New York buildings may 
be of interest: 

Ft. In. 

Madison Square Garden 305 

City Investing Building 400 

Equitable Building 542 10 

Singer Building 612 

Metropolitan Tower 700 

Woolworth Building 792 1 

One of the most interesting of the skyscrapers 
in New York is commonly known as the * ' Flat- 
iron." If you are in the upper part of this 
building in a great storm you will feel it sway 

281 



PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW 

sliglitly with the wind. And yet it is said to.be 
the most strongly built of all. 

After we have walked past many of these im- 
posing structures or have been carried by the 
elevators to the tops of their towers, we are cer- 
tain to think of the thousands of busy people 
who are toiling in every building. We shall 
long remember the wide views of the ocean, of 
the city and of the country beyond to be had 
from the windows in the top stories. And, too, 
when we go away, we shall not be able to forget 
the suggestive name which has been given these 
high buildings — "skyscrapers." 



(1) 



\ 



^ 310 8 8 




:!in(!)i 



u'' 



ISiffiiSi 




I 



-i ♦ 



W-^'^. 



■^^ 



k 



iMLlNSbN 



sUltJhimHiSHiP s 



I! 



